According to reports, Virat Kohli is likely to the don the captain's hat in the ODI format as well, replacing MS Dhoni for the 50-over series against South Africa in the month of October.
The Indian Express report suggests the selectors do not want the team to get affected by different personalities and captaincy styles of Dhoni and Kohli. Apparently, the selectors have been discussing the possibility of handing over the ODI capaincy to Kohli for a while now.
India will be taking on South Africa in a 72 day-long energy-sapping tour starting from 2 October. The two teams will be playing three T20Is, five ODIs and four Test matches until 7 December.
It is true that Dhoni has not played any match since the ODI series against Bangladesh in Dhaka in the month of June. Is this an indication that Dhoni is likely to make way for Kohli for the longer run?
It is still not clear whether the BCCI has discussed the same issue with Dhoni. The Indian board is likely to announce the squad for the T20I and ODI series against South Africa on 15 September.
However, the selectors feel that Dhoni will be the ideal man to lead Team India in the shortest format of the game. The two-time World Cup-winning skipper will be BCCI's first choice as India will be hosting the ICC World T20 in 2016.
"Even in the previous selection meeting there were talks about Virat being named captain for all formats. But it is also worth keeping in mind that Dhoni is the most successful India captain ever and Virat is just finding his feet as far as captaincy goes.
"With India set to play mainly at home next year, it will only be an advantage for Virat to take over the reins now rather than in an away series. Dhoni might continue to lead in T20s though," a source close to BCCI told Indian Express.
