'That guy has 70 hundreds': Former Pakistan skipper slams BCCI for sacking Virat Kohli as ODI captain

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday confirmed Virat Kohli has been replaced by Rohit Sharma as the captain of India's ODI team ahead of the South Africa tour. The decision has not gone down well with many, who feel Kohli has been treated unfairly by the Indian cricket board despite having expressed his desire to continue leading the side in ODIs and Tests when he had announced his decision to step down as the T20 captain of the side in October this year.

Some reports claimed Kohli was handed an ultimatum by the BCCI to announce the decision to leave ODI captaincy himself. However, Kohli decided not to step down which led to the board announcing that he has been replaced by Rohit as the skipper of the Indian team in the fifty-over format. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has slammed the BCCI for setting a wrong example by sacking Kohli.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Butt reacted to the reports of BCCI asking Kohli to step down himself within 48 hours. The ex-Pakistan batter said a player of Kohli's stature, who has 70 centuries to his name in international cricket, should not have been treated the way he has been and that it sets the wrong example for the youngsters in the team.

"How big is this an example for the upcoming guys? That guy has 70 hundreds. The rest of the team combined doesn't have 70 hundreds. At age 30 he was around that number... It's not like he has scored ducks, played the wrong way or lost matches for the team. It's not like his intent has gone down, nor average or strike rate has drastically fallen. He has played brilliantly in supporting acts, played crucial innings in Test matches," said Butt as he criticised the BCCI.

"But still if this can happen then what will others have to do to avoid a situation like this? What example are you setting for the youngsters? I think this is not the kind of treatment that you want as a player when you have done so much. Lesser players wouldn't want it. This is not the kind of treatment you would want youngsters to see. If this is happening with him then others haven't even started following in his footsteps yet," he added.

Also Read: Kohli was given 2 days to resign as ODI captain before BCCI announced Rohit as his successor: Report

Kohli was sacked on Wednesday with a social media post from BCCI confirming that Rohit will be leading the ODI team going ahead. When asked about the decision, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly explained how the board didn't want split captaincy in white-ball cricket which led to the selectors handing over both T20 and ODI captaincy to Rohit.

Rohit had been appointed as the captain of India's T20I team post the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021 this year. Kohli led India in a total of 95 ODI matches, winning 65 of them with a win percentage of over 70.