Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly revealed that India were not at all prepared for Virat Kohli’s resignation as Test captain. Kohli resigned as Test captain after India’s tour of South Africa, after a public feud with Ganguly. The India talisman had been stripped of white ball captaincy, but there were no contingencies on his red ball leadership.
Ganguly admitted that the BCCI were not prepared for Kohli’s decision. Kohli had led India in the WTC Final in 2021 and had the best record as an Indian captain in Tests before resigning from the post.
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Speaking to Aaj Tak, Ganguly said, “BCCI was not prepared for Virat Kohli leaving the Test captaincy. It was unexpected for us also after the South Africa tour. Only Virat Kohli can reveal why he left the captaincy. There is no point talking about this now because Virat Kohli left the Test captaincy. Selectors had to appoint an India captain. And Rohit was the best option at that time.”
Ganguly and Kohli’s feud lasted for a few months with the former India captain also accusing the BCCI chief of lying. It eventually led to the former’s dismissal as BCCI chief with Roger Binny replacing him.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the WTC Final loss to Australia was severely panned by experts and fans alike. However, Ganguly has thrown his weight behind the hit-man, suggesting that his record of 5 IPL titles is no joke.
“At that time, Rohit Sharma looked the best alternate. He’s won five IPLs. Whenever he had been handed the opportunity to captain, like in the Asia Cup, he’s won. He was the best option. He’s led the team in the WTC Final as well this time around, even though we lost,” Ganguly added.
The 2023 World Cup is Rohit’s final chance to win India an ICC trophy. The Men in Blue have gone 10 years without a title with their last win coming back in 2013 Champions Trophy. The ex BCCI president had only one advice to Rohit – play fearlessly.
“I want him (Rohit) to lead the team without any fear. We have a World Cup six months later. A team that has Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah – we don’t know if he’ll be fit by then – Shami, Siraj…that team will win some time. In my opinion….I have played with Rahul (Dravid) and have a lot of respect for him…he can take this team forward along with Rohit only,” he concluded.
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