There is no respite for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli. The Board of Cricket Control in India, on Wednesday, announced full strength squads to play Bangladesh in a one-off Test and three One-Day Internationals next month.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh made a comeback to the national team, recalled for the sole Test, at the cost of Dhoni's favourite, Ravindra Jadeja.
It is imperative here to note that Dhoni had kept the Saurashtra all-rounder in the team despite him nursing injury, and consequently a slump in form in the build-up to the World Cup.
It would be an understatement to say that Jadeja was the biggest under performer in what was an otherwise satisfactory outing for Team India in the quadrennial extravaganza Down Under.
With Narayanaswami Srinivasan out of BCCI, it appears tough times are ahead for Dhoni, and Kohli is the current flavour of the board.
Take a look at the following instances and figure it out yourself…
During the first play-off of the Indian Premier League 8, Dhoni was fined 10 per cent of his match fee for 'inappropriate public comments' about an umpire's decision.
The Chennai Super Kings skipper was critical over the dismissal of opener Dwayne Smith.
'We lost momentum in the middle, and not to forget Smith got a horrible decision,' Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
He later had to admit the level 1 offence (Article 2.1.7 of the IPL Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials) and accept the sanction.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli got away cheaply.
On Monday, the Royal Challengers Bangalore captain was found guilty of violating the BCCI's anti-corruption code during an IPL match in Bangalore but let off, as the breach was found to be a minor one.
Kohli met girlfriend Anushka Sharma in the stands of the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the rain-break of the RCB's match against Delhi Daredevils.
The precise code that Kohli was found to have breached relates to the minimum standards for Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA).
Kohli was informed of the infringement by the BCCI anti-corruption unit's head Ravi Sawani and let off.
During the World Cup too, there were reports of Kohli's ugly spat with a journalist of a national daily in Perth. Thereafter, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur jumped to Kohli's rescue, saying the incident was a case of misunderstanding and the issue should be put to rest immediately, to let the team focus on the World Cup.
There have also been reports in the media that Dhoni was forced to hand over the Test captaincy to Kohli, and consequently had to hurry his retirement in the longer format of the game.
Besides, there have always been question marks about the temperament of Kohli. However, the BCCI has always stood by him. Precisely what happened in Dhoni's case when Srinivasan was in charge.
If this isn't a clear indication, what is?
Are Dhoni's 'acche din' over? Tells us.
