The difference of opinion between players and board members is part and parcel of the game but the current state of affairs between Virat Kohli and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have left a bad taste in fans’ mouth. While a number of former India cricketers have expressed their opinions on the subject, even ex-Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has shared his take on the entire saga.

Many former Indian cricketers and experts feel that the communication between Kohli and the BCCI should’ve been better. Some have even hit out at board president Sourav Ganguly for getting in between the matter, saying it should’ve been sorted between the selectors and the skipper.

Afridi, speaking to Pakistani news channel Samaa TV, said that the selection committee and Kohli should’ve discussed the matter before the news was made public.

“This could have been handled in a better way. I always feel that the role of a cricket board is very important; it plays the role of a father. Whatever future plans a selection committee of a board has regarding a player, it communicates those plans to that player, like, ‘Look, we have these plans, what are your plans? We want to do this and as a board, we see benefits from doing this,” he said.

Afridi feels communication between players and the board should take place face-to-face and not through media. When there’s a communication gap, problems like the one between Kohli and BCCI arise.

“If you communicate these things via media, there will be issues. Talk face-to-face, and we might have solutions. This won’t be solved if you keep dragging it. There should be no communication gap between players and PCB, or any board for that matter,” said the former Pakistan all-rounder.

While Ganguly claimed that he had asked Kohli not to give up T20I captaincy, the latter said that his decision to relinquish the responsibility was received very well by the BCCI, and no one asked him to reconsider. 

When the BCCI chief was asked about the difference in the two stories, he insisted that the matter will be resolved internally