Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt came down hard on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the way they sacked Virat Kohli from ODI captaincy, which was followed by some shocking revelations made by the ex-skipper in the media.

Kohli revealed on Wednesday that he wasn’t asked to continue leading the T20I team, contradicting BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s claim that he spoke to the player himself after he communicated his decision to step down from the post.

Kohli also clarified that he has no issues with Rohit Sharma, who took over the limited-overs captaincy, and that he never intended to skip the ODI series in South Africa next month.

“I truly believe whatever he (Kohli) says. He is very clear in his talk. He said that they only told him 1.5 hours before the selection of the Test team that he would no longer be the ODI captain.

“Now, some people might say that selectors are not obliged to tell. I don’t know about that, but look at who you are talking to! He is ‘the’ player. In the last few years, the magnitude of your cricket is based on (the success of) few individuals and he is right up there with those people.

“It started with Ganguly’s captaincy, passed it on to Dhoni and he, then, passed it on to Kohli. His contribution as a player is no less than anyone,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

Butt also urged Sourav Ganguly to come out and clarify his stance on Kohli’s comments and sort things out for the “betterment of Indian cricket”.

“Ganguly has been a big player and we all respect him, but Kohli has thrown Ganguly’s claim out of the window. He very clearly said that there was no such request.

““He is clear in his head and in his speech. Ganguly needs to answer this for the betterment of Indian cricket,” Butt said.

Kohli left with the Indian team for the tour of South Africa on Thursday. He will be leading the Test side in the 3-match series starting December 26 while Rohit, if fit, will captain the ODI team from January 19