'Virat Kohli wanted to quit, it was purely his decision': Arun Dhumal makes HUGE claim on captaincy saga

Virat Kohli last captained Team India seven months ago. However, his captaincy remains one of the hot topics, particularly because of the manner, how the captaincy changed hands. Kohli had already announced his decision to relinquish the T20I captaincy after the World Cup last year. 

However, the BCCI didn't want two separate captains for limited overs formats and Test cricket. Thus, Rohit Sharma was handed the reins in ODIs as well. After India's tour of South Africa in January 2022, Kohli stepped aside as the Test skipper as well. 

And soon followed the change of guard, across all formats, with BCCI making the announcement of Rohit Sharma's takeover with a simple tweet. The saga escalated and soon it became Kohli vs the BCCI. 

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However, treasurer Arun Dhumal has made a huge claim by revealing that it was Kohli who had decided to step aside as captain, and the BCCI never tried to sideline him. 

Amid the 33-year-old ongoing slump, his selection in the team has been questioned by many, but Dhumal insists that the final call about Kohli will be taken by the selectors. 

Speaking to veteran journalist Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel, Dhumal said, "See… as far as Virat is concerned, he is not a simple player. He is a great and his contribution to Indian cricket is unparalleled. It is outstanding. So, such conversations (board is trying to sideline Kohli) keep taking place in the media and it does not affect us. We want that he returns to form soon, and as far as team selection is concerned, we leave it to selectors. It is their call as to how they want to go about it."

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Further shedding light on the end of Kohli's captaincy saga, Dhumal said that it was his call to relinquish the captaincy. 

"As far as the issue of captaincy is concerned, it was his call. He decided that mujhe ab nahi karni hai captaincy (that I don’t want to captain). It is possible that someone feels it’s best to do it after the World Cup but that is their point of view. But he wanted to quit, and it was purely his decision. And we respected it. See he has contributed so much to Indian cricket that everyone in the cricket board respects him. We would like to see Virat in action on the ground," added the BCCI treasurer.