Virat Kohli is not the limited overs captain for his nation anymore. Before T20 WC 2021- Kohli had announced that the marquee tournament would be his assignment as India’s T20I skipper. However, the story of his ODIs removal was very much different. He wasn’t intimated about his axing as team’s skipper and that Rohit Sharma was going to replace him permanently.
Though the decision of Virat Kohli’s ODI sacking generates sympathy for him, it doesn’t mean he didn’t have his flaws. He surely did and that’s why he was sacked. For instance- India didn’t win any ICC trophy under him. Kohli didn’t back his players.
Constant chopping and changing of the players was a regular recipe in Kohli’s book. In this article, we will look at 3 such big-ticket players who weren’t backed enough and whose limited-overs career finished forever under Kohli’s tenure.
1. Suresh Raina
Not long ago, Suresh Raina was an integral part of India’s ODI and T20Intl teams. If not for Raina’s epic cameos, we may not have won 2011’s ODI World Cup. But he was axed from the team as soon as MS Dhoni handed the captain’s hat to Virat Kohli.
Regardless, after a gap of nearly 3 years- Suresh Raina made his international comeback as he was selected for limited overs series vs England. There, Raina got only three opportunities to bat and his scores read 27(20), 1(5) and 46(63). He then totalled eighty-eight runs and one wicket during RSA T20Is.
His numbers did not stand out as he was constantly pushed up and down the order. But Raina played the perfect team man. Despite that, owing to a couple of bad matches, he was axed. Suresh spent his next two years in the wilderness before announcing his international retirement on 15 August, 2020.
2. Yuvraj Singh
If someone asked me to name the most heroic indian cricketer, i’ll shout “Yuvi” without second thoughts. From being World Cup 2011’s best performer to transitioning into 2014’s villian: Yuvraj Singh was a part of it all.
Following T20I WC 2K14- Yuvi had phased out of international reckoning. Efficiency had fallen owing to his tryst with cancer. But being the fighter than he is, Yuvraj Singh marched back into the team in 2017’s England Tour. He started off with fifteen in first game and then followed it up with career-best 150 in the second. Last game of the series saw him score 45.
Yuvi was back in form and was selected for Champions Trophy where he scored another half century. In the same period, Yuvraj was a part of WI’s ODI tour where he caught a hamstring niggle and was replaced by Karthik. This was his last int’l game as he was “rested” for SL ODIs. It was all under Kohli’s leadership. The flamboyant southpaw even cleared infamous YO-YO test after a bit of struggle. Still, he was ignored for int’l matches that followed. Yuvraj accused the management for “looking for excuses” to shove him out of the limited-overs setup.
3. Ambati Rayudu
Last but definitely not the least. Rayudu was just another case in Kohli’s chop’N change mechanics. On the back of his 2018 IPL performances, Ambati Rayudu finally found himself in the national reckoning again.
In him, India found a reliable number four they were dying for. In his 55-match long int’l career, Rayudu scored three centuries and 10 half-centuries. His strike-rate was eighty-ish but he handled collapses darn well. During 2018’s Caribbeans tour of India, Rayudu was at belligerence. He scored a sensible 80-ball-73 in 2nd game before following it up with a stroke-filled 81-ball-100 in fourth. He mastered in playing situations.
Rayudu was the shining light during 2019’s India tour for NZ. He out-performed the celebrated Rohit-Dhawan-Kohli trio by scoring 190 runs at an average of 63.33. In conclusion, his place in 2019 ODI WC seemed a lock. But not for the Kohli-MSK duo.
For reasons beyond our sight, he didn’t find a place in India’s 2019 World Cup squad. In fact, he lost his place to a rookie in Vijay Shankar. Reason? Shankar was a three-dimensional player in selectors’ opinion.
Rayudu batted pretty well in following IPL seasons and domestic leagues. Regardless, he never found his way back into the indian team even as Pant and Karthik failed to do well at number four and five. Recently, then-coach Ravi Shastri clarified that he always wanted Rayudu in the mix. It is highly possible that Skipper Kohli didn’t back him. His sudden departure from int’l setup baffles me till date.
