‘The media must stop writing this rubbish’ – BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal dismisses reports of complaints against Virat Kohli

Arun Dhumal, the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, has quashed the reports of senior Indian cricketers complaining against national captain Virat Kohli. On Tuesday, it was learned that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara had called up BCCI chief secretary Jay Shah and showed their reservations of playing under the leadership of the 32-year-old Kohli.

It was reported that the issue stemmed after Virat pulled up the duo in the dressing room following India’s loss to New Zealand in the final of the 2019-21 World Test Championship at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Reports suggested that Pujara and Rahane called up the BCCI secretary and talked about the harsh treatment meted out to them. However, Dhumal said that the rumours are baseless and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

This kind of reporting harms Indian cricket, says Arun Dhumal

“The media must stop writing this rubbish. Let me say this on the record that no Indian cricketer has made any complaint to the BCCI – written or verbal. The BCCI can’t keep answering every false report that keeps appearing. The other day, we saw some reports saying there will be changes in India’s World Cup squad. Who said that?” Dhumal was quoted as saying in The Times of India.

Earlier this month, Virat decided to step down as Team India’s T20I captain after the T20 World Cup in the UAE. Thereafter, reports of the BCCI wanting him to resign emerged. Reports also suggested that head coach Ravi Shastri wanted Kohli to give up captaincy from both ODIs and T20Is. Dhumal said that the speculations cause a lot of damage to Indian cricket.

“This kind of reporting harms Indian cricket more than anything else. We can understand if senior journalists – who have followed the game for a very long time and tracked it so devotedly – believe the Indian team should do this or do that.

“That’s an opinion and we respect that. It’s an observation and that’s their job. I myself enjoy reading good reports. But to concoct tales and say this person said this or that person said, without substantiating it, is not done,” he added.