Team India chief selector Chetan Sharma contradicts Virat Kohli's claim on T20I captaincy

India's chief selector Chetan Sharma contradicted Virat Kohli's claim that no one from the board or selection committee had persuaded him to reconsider quitting T20 captaincy before the ICC T20 World Cup.

Chetan Sharma made the remarks after announcing India's 18-man selection for the three-match One-Day International series against South Africa, which begins on January 19.

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"It (Kohli's choice) was a surprise for everyone when the meeting (World Cup selection conference) started because a World Cup was coming up in a few days and it's normal that everyone will have a similar reaction," Sharma said in the virtual press conference on Friday.

"Everyone in the room pleaded with Virat Kohli to reconsider his decision." At the time, all selectors believed that this could have an impact on the World Cup and that it could have been dealt with after the event.

"When the meeting started, it was a surprise for everybody. If the World T20 is around the corner and you hear something like this, what will be your reaction? Everyone present in that meeting had told him that he should think hard about his decision (to quit T20 captaincy) and we can talk about it after the World Cup," Chetan said.

Notably, in his explosive pre-departure press conference, Kohli had dropped a bombshell by contradicting BCCI president Sourav Ganguly's claims that he was never asked by anyone not to quit the T20 captaincy and was informed about his sacking from ODI leadership only 90 minutes before the Test squad selection for the tour of South Africa.