‘When you try to boss around’—Virat Kohli's brother claims senior players removed from Tests, slams BCCI over strategy

Virat Kohli’s elder brother, Vikas Kohli, appeared to take a subtle swipe at Team India’s management as the side struggles in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. He claimed senior players were removed from Tests and slammed BCCI over strategy.

In a Threads post that has since been deleted, Vikas seemed to question the new decisions taken under the current leadership, implying that needless meddling had disturbed a system that had previously worked well for India in Test cricket.

Although he did not directly name head coach Gautam Gambhir, his remarks could be seen as a veiled reference to the coach and the changes introduced since he assumed the role.

"There was a time that we played to win even in overseas conditions.... Now we are playing to save the match....even in india.. This is what happens when u try to boss around and change things unnecessary which were not broken....," Vikas said in a post which now appears to be removed.

The current Indian team management features head coach Gautam Gambhir, BCCI selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar, Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav.

He further said he wants team India to win; however, he continued stating questions need to be asked "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE???"

Under Gambhir’s guidance, India’s Test performances have steadily dipped, a report by ANI noted. The side has suffered more losses than wins during his stint, including an uncharacteristic run of poor results at home. The top order has averaged below 30, and India have frequently failed to cross the 300-run mark, a stark departure from the reliability they once displayed. This decline has also overlapped with the recent Test retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two pillars of India’s batting for more than a decade.

India notably endured a 3-0 whitewash at home to New Zealand last year, followed by a 3-1 defeat to Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy abroad, a campaign in which they also fell short of reaching the World Test Championship final. Now, in the ongoing two-match series against South Africa, India have already dropped the first Test by 30 runs, and now find themselves in trouble at 27/2, still requiring 522 runs to square the series.