Historian Ramachandra Guha believes that Kohli is worshipped by the BCCI officials

Virat Kohli has certainly taken Indian cricket by storm. He has redefined the way that the game is played. His focus and determination to win matches for the country keeps him going further and further. He has achieved things that others can only dream of. Kohli is currently at the epicenter of Indian cricket and has been attributed with nicknames like “King Kohli” and “The Run Machine.”

However, the game is bigger than any individual player. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has the ultimate authority over Indian cricket and it must not include any other party for any decision-making. The board has not had a great time in the past two years.

It has been accused of various things that are not good for the game and its functioning. Several top officials have come under the radar for misusing their power. It is believed that Kohli is not questioned by the BCCI officials for any matter and they seem to agree upon anything that he has to say.

Servant-Master

Historian Ramachandra Guha did not have a good finish to his job at the BCCI. He vacated his post in June 2017 as he was unhappy with several issues including the rift between Kohli and Anil Kumble. He had targeted MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar raising conflict of interest. He also did not approve of the “Superstar” culture of Indian cricket.

“…unfortunately, this superstar syndrome has also distorted the system of Indian team contracts. As you will recall, I had pointed out that awarding MS Dhoni an ‘A’ contract when he had explicitly ruled himself out from all Test matches was indefensible on cricketing grounds, and sends absolutely the wrong message,” Guha wrote in his letter to CoA chief Vinod Rai as he stepped down from his position in the committee.

Even the Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have such disciples. Guha added, “When the Committee of Administrators had to discuss the Future Tours Programme, the BCCI’s legal counsel said that Virat’s consent must be taken. When the management of the National Cricket Academy came before us, the BCCI’s CEO suggested that Virat must have the first and last word on how it was run. (The BCCI men always used the captain’s first name in referring to him, perhaps to indicate intimacy; however, in concrete behavioural terms, the proximity was more akin to that between servant and master.),” he wrote in his recent article for the Telegraph.

BCCI must not abjectly bow down before him

Guha feels that this culture needs to be changed for the betterment of Indian cricket. BCCI must take decisions by itself and not take the consent of the captain for all matters. However, he considers Kohli to be a great leader who has tasted a lot of success in international cricket.

The historian tweeted: “Virat Kohli is a great cricketer and charismatic leader, but for his team to win overseas the BCCI must not abjectly bow down before him.”

The Indian contingent is currently 2-0 behind against the Proteas in the 3-match Test series and must do something out of the box to avoid a whitewash.