A wise decision?
“And unwinding in a bio-bubble is even more challenging,” says Ramky, adding that taking a break from a certain format of the game is the new norm.
He recalls that Team India earlier had a violinist customising tunes to help players unwind. “In 2005, we had a violinist who used to come up with custom tunes and play to Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. We felt that music helps players calm down and gives them mental strength,” he says.
STAYING AWAY FROM THE FAMILY FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS IN A YEAR DOES TAKE A TOLL MENTALLY TOO. PLAYERS’ SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS HAVE TO BE MET. VIRAT HAS BEEN PLAYING FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS NON-STOP, AND I FEEL HE HAS NOW REALISED THE IMPORTANCE OF LONGEVITY IN THE GAME AND THAT’S WHY HE QUIT T-20
TIMING ISSUES
Many feel Virat should have not have taken this decision just when Team India is gearing for the T-20 World Cup which is two months away. Perhaps a decision after the World Cup would have been more sensible, they say.
Former cricketer Pragyan Ojha feels that the timing of Virat’s decision isn’t the best. While acknowledging that the decision is a ‘personal choice’, the former left arm spinner believes it will attract unwanted pressure before the World Cup and affect the players’ morale. Admitting that captaining all the three formats is a huge reasonability, Pragyan says in his opinion, “giving up Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captaincy would have been a good move.” He also feels that given Rohit Sharma’s track record in the T-20s, he’s the ideal choice to succeed Virat.
— SUDARSAN V.P, Former Team India Fitness, Strength and Conditioning Coach
A BCCI MOVE?
Over the last few months, Virat Kohli’s leadership in T-20 has come under constant criticism, more so because Rohit Sharma has led his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) to title wins while Virat hasn’t been able to win a T20 trophy for Team India or the
MANY FEEL VIRAT SHOULD HAVE NOT HAVE TAKEN THIS
DECISION JUST WHEN TEAM INDIA IS GEARING FOR THE T-20 WORLD CUP WHICH IS TWO MONTHS AWAY. PERHAPS A DECISION AFTER THE WORLD CUP WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SENSIBLE
IPL trophy for his RCB franchise. So there is speculation that Kohli may be fearing that he will be dethroned if Team India fails to win the World Cup this time.
However, Sunil Yash Kalra, Sports Broadcaster and Commentator, has an interesting contention. He says, “Ravi Shastri is leaving his post after the T-20 World Cup, Virat gets lesser power, MS Dhoni is coming in as mentor! And Rohit Sharma will take over from Virat!
So what’s the message from BCCI?
RAVI SHASTRI IS LEAVING HIS POST AFTER THE T-20 WORLD CUP, VIRAT GETS LESSER POWER, MS DHONI IS COMING IN AS MENTOR! AND ROHIT SHARMA WILL TAKE OVER FROM VIRAT!
SO WHAT’S THE MESSAGE FROM BCCI?