Indian cricket is in turmoil. Former player Sadagopan Ramesh has launched a scathing attack on the BCCI.
He says the board is putting pressure on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma like a company forcing its employees to resign.
This all happened after the selection of the ODI team for the Australia tour. On October 4th, Shubman Gill was appointed the new ODI captain, while Rohit was removed.
Virat and Rohit have been retained in the team, but Ramesh believes this is just a pretense.
India will play three ODIs in Australia starting October 19th. Ramesh also criticized Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and Coach Gautam Gambhir.
Ramesh rebuked the BCCI for “corporate-style” pressure.
Ramesh expressed his anger by posting a video on his YouTube channel.
He said, “While we can be happy with Rohit and Virat’s return, they are putting additional pressure on both of them. It’s like companies that don’t fire you outright, but put so much pressure on you that you quit on your own. It seems the current Indian management is following this strategy.”
People are also surprised to hear this. Rohit won the Champions Trophy 2025, yet why was he removed from captaincy? Virat and Rohit retired from Tests this year after poor form in Australia.
After winning the T20 World Cup, he also left T20Is. Now, his future in ODIs depends on his performance, as the selectors clearly stated.
Questions on team selection, but some positives too
Ramesh called most of the selections in the ODI squad “questionable.” But he praised two positive points. One, the appointment of Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain.
Ramesh said, “The only good thing they did in the selection was appointing Shreyas Iyer as vice-captain. He’s shown his captaincy skills in the IPL, but he needs to shine as a batsman in Australia; that’s really important.”
Shreyas led KKR to victory in the 2024 IPL, led Punjab Kings to the final, and also played in the final against Delhi Capitals. Second, was the inclusion of Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Ramesh said, “Another positive thing in the selection was the inclusion of Yashasvi Jaiswal in the ODI squad.”
This young talent could provide freshness to the team.
