Players close to the India captain are given preference in the playing XI
13 July, 2019
PHOTO: AP
India’s exit from the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup has got the rumour mill churning as news about divisions within the Indian team have started surfacing.
According to The Quint, an Indian player is quoted to have said, on basis of anonymity, that there are two groups within the team, one led by skipper Virat Kohli and the other by vice-captain Rohit Sharma.
According to the website, Kohli does not consult with anyone before taking decisions, since he has full backing of India coach Ravi Shastri and the Indian Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai.
The decision to omit Ambati Rayadu from the World Cup squad was also taken solely by the Indian skipper.
The report also suggests that players close to the India captain are given preference in the playing XI, while others close to Rohit Sharma are ignored. It is for this reason that KL Rahul is in the team despite inconsistent performance and Kohli’s IPL teammate Yuzvendra Chahal gets the nod ahead of Kuldeep Yadav when India plays a single spinner.
