Reports: Senior Indian batters miffed with Virat Kohli’s captaincy after WTC final loss

After Virat Kohli put forth his decision to step down as Team India’s skipper from the T20 format following the T20 World Cup, it’s been learned that a few Indian players had shown reservations over playing under him. As per reports, it happened after India’s eight-wicket loss to New Zealand at in the final of the World Test Championship at the Rose Bowl back in June.

If reports are to be believed, at least two senior Indian players had raised the matter with Jay Shah, the Honorary secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), over the harsh treatment they received. In the WTC final, India’s batting suffered a collapse as Kohli’s men were bowled out for 170 after which the Black Caps won the game with relative ease.

Virat Kohli in trouble?

As per sources, after India’s defeat, Kohli pulled up Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane inside the dressing room and the incident seemed to have given rise to the big problem. During that time, while Pujara was under the radar for his indifferent strike-rate, vice-captain Rahane was going through a lean patch in his Test career.

Reports stated that the two batters called Jay Shah personally after which the BCCI had to intervene and asked for feedback from some of the other cricketers as well. Speculations are also rife that the BCCI would take a call of Kohli’s future as India’s ODI skipper after the World Cup in the UAE, the New Indian Express reported.

After India’s defeat, Virat had talked about not letting the bowlers build pressure on the batters. He said that the batters have to find ways to score runs to stamp their authority.

“If you don’t put their bowlers under pressure then they have the fitness and the consistency to bowl long spells and keep bowling all day in the same areas and trouble you, and the more momentum you give them, then invariably they get the breakthroughs they want,” Virat was quoted as saying after the match.

“The mindset has to be to score runs and find ways to score runs. You can’t be too worried about getting out because you are [then] bringing the bowler into the game completely,” he added.