However, Kohli typically though unexpectedly has chosen to call the bluff, something that has possibly never happened in the 93 year history of the BCCI. Whatever was said about the communication (between Ganguly and him), he said, was inaccurate. He was called by Sharma on December 8 to discuss the composition of the Test team for South Africa, ‘one and a half hours’ before the meeting. While putting down the phone, he claimed, Sharma informed him that he would no longer lead the side in ODIs. To put the role of the selection committee in perspective, it is pertinent to note that since 2008 the selectors are being paid quite handsomely, and presently the chairman receives Rs. 1 crore per year while the other four members are paid Rs. 90 lakh each.While Kohli’s plainspeak has landed Ganguly in a spot and knives are out for him, two questions remain unanswered. One, did the selection committee, independent on paper, seek instructions from the BCCI and if so, why? Two, did Ganguly instruct the selection committee chairman to drop Kohli for Rohit Sharma? The controversy, ahead of the Indian team’s challenging three Test series beginning December 26 could not have come at a worse time. But surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, nobody is commenting on Jay Shah’s claim in September that BCCI and Kohli were in talks about captaincy for the past six months.(This article was first published in National Herald on Sunday.)
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