1. Kohli vs Ganguly
All was well till Kohli announced his decision to step down from India T20I captaincy a few days ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli clearly indicated that he would like to lead India in ODIs and Tests. But India’s exit from the T20 WC in the group stages changed the equation.
Whispers became a loud murmur that Kohli should be replaced in ODIs too and make Rohit Sharma the uniform captain in white ball cricket. It remained a passable clatter till December 8.
But a BCCI mail that announced the Test squad to South Africa added an important footnote. It said Kohli will no longer be the ODI captain and Rohit will take over from the series against SA in January, 2022.
In the interim, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said he had personally spoken to Kohli and requested him not to step down from the T20I captaincy.
But Kohli made multi-pointed allegations during his press conference. The Test skipper said there was no prior communication with him on the change of captaincy in ODIs, and no one from BCCI spoken to him and asked him not to quit T20I captaincy.
It was a clear that Kohli was contradicting the claims of Ganguly without taking his name.
Till that point, everyone wanted to know whether there was a rift between Kohli and Rohit, and that was the central storyline of Indian cricket for a while.
But in a big, fell swoop, Kohli changed the narrative and it became Kohli vs BCCI or Kohli vs Ganguly.
Rahul Dravid era begins, again
For a while, Dravid’s name has been touted as the India coach once Ravi Shastri’s tenure came to an end. Dravid’s temporary appointment as India coach for the white ball tour of Sri Lanka was touted as an audition before he ascended the hot seat.
After rushing through the formalities, BCCI appointed Dravid was India head coach post the T20 World Cup and VVS Laxman as NCA chief as the 1996 batchmates assumed all the most important roles in Indian cricket.
3. India’s Test record in 2021
India beat England 3-1 (home)
India lost to NZ (WTC Final)
India leads England 2-1 after 4 Tests (home)
India beat New Zealand 1-0 (home)
4. India’s ODI record in 2021
India beat England 2-1 (home)
India beat England 3-2 (home)
India beat Sri Lanka 2-1 (away)
5. India’s T20I record in 2021
India lost to Sri Lanka 1-2 (away)
ICC T20 World Cup, 2021, India ousted in the knockouts
India beat New Zealand 3-0 (home)
6. What to expect in 2022
There are a slew of home series, one-off Test against England on the anvil. But the focal point will be the T20 World Cup in October to be held in Australia, home of defending champions. India would want nothing less than the trophy under Rohit and Dravid.