Virat Kohli talks about his role in the selection of the coach

Virat Kohli has been termed arrogant, authoritarian and egoistic in the wake of Anil Kumble’s resignation as the Indian head coach and a lot of former cricketers have suggested that the next coach will be the one the skipper points at. The Indian captain on his part has said that the players or captain can express their opinion on the selection of the coach only if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) approaches them.

“Contrary to the perception, we as a team can put forward our views to the coach only if asked by BCCI. BCCI has put a process in place and we respect that as a team,” Virat said while interacting with the media on the eve of the third ODI against West Indies.

When he was asked what he looks for in a coach the skipper talked on behalf of his team standing ahead of them facing all the criticism. He said, “From a personal point of view, I can’t pinpoint anything or give details. We as a team don’t care for perceptions, we as a team only voice our opinions when being asked by the BCCI there to give us suggestions, so that is something we’ve always gone through as a process.”

That’s something we respect as a team when asked when asked together. It is not like segregation of anything so we respect that process and procedure and if and when it takes place then we’ll give our suggestions to the BCCI.”

Focus is on the series

Against the common opinion that Virat & Co. have been regularly in touch with the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), or the Committee of Administrators (CoA) from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he said that currently their focus is on the ongoing series and those responsible for picking the coach are doing their work.

“Right now we have a series at hand and this is what we are focused on right now. The process is taking place and that is something to be done by BCCI. The process has always been in place. We as a team are focusing on this series right now and we are not focused on anything else now. We are focused on coming here and winning this series and preparing for the game that lies ahead of us,” Kohli said.

The reporters tried their best to extract details from the skipper as to what he is looking for in the next coach but he stuck to what he had to say and revealed only the information he had decided he would.

“That’s what I am saying. The suggestion is given to the Board who handle the procedure. There’s no point in saying anything out in the open because that is for us as a team to convey to the Board as an when we are asked as I mentioned before,” the 28-year-old concluded.