Virat Kohli press conference: Kohli confirms availability for ODI series

Virat Kohli: I was told 90 minutes before that I won’t be ODI captain

Virat Kohli finally broke his silence after being removed as the ODI captain during a press conference on Wednesday.

Virat Kohli on Wednesday said that he was contacted 90 minutes before the official announcement was made that he has been removed as the ODI captain.

“I was contacted one and half hours before the selection meeting on the 8th for the test series and there was no prior communication to me at all,” Kohli said before the team’s departure for South Africa.

Virat Kohli was sacked as the ODI captain with India’s cricket board appointing Rohit Sharma as the new ODI captain.

Virat also put an end to the rumors on his availability for the ODI series in South Africa and his alleged rift with the new Captain Rohit Sharma.

“I was and I am available for the selection all the time. I never communicated with the BCCI asking for rest. I am available for the ODI series in South Africa, and was always available, “Former ODI captain said.

“There is no rift between me and Rohit Sharma. I have clarified it multiple times in 2.5 years and now I am tired of clarifying things. I can guarantee you that my communication will never be to make my team down till I am playing cricket. It is my commitment towards Indian Cricket,” he added.

“My responsibility is obviously to push the team in the right direction, something that I’ve always looked to do even before I became the captain, so that mindset will never change,” Virat Kohli on his role under Rohit’s captaincy.

“South Africa is the only place where we have not won a series yet. So we are very motivated to do that. And the mindset is always to go there and win the series in any country that we play,” India’s Test captain on the upcoming test series in South Africa.

 Virat Kohli will lead team India in the upcoming Test Series against South Africa. The first test match will be played between 26-30 December.