Published: Jun 24, 2025, 06:06 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 24, 2025, 06:06 PM (IST)
Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief selector Sourav Ganguly made a significant revelation regarding the captaincy controversy that followed Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as captain after the South Africa tour in 2022.
Ganguly was taking care of the day-to-day operations at the BCCI when Virat Kohli was removed as ODI captain and replaced by Rohit Sharma. This came just a few months after Kohli had stepped down as T20I captain, following India’s group-stage exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.
Ahead of the Test series in South Africa, Virat Kohli told the media that he was informed about his removal as ODI captain only an hour and a half before the Test squad for the tour was announced, with no prior communication from the BCCI regarding the decision.
Following India’s defeat against South Africa, Kohli also stepped down as the captain of the Test team. Ganguly has now cleared all the speculation and said that BCCI wanted Kohli to continue as Test captain.
“Quite natural, you have one captain for the white ball. 50 over and 20 over. We always wanted Virat to captain but he did not want to continue. Rohit was captaining Mumbai Indians, was captaining 50 overs and T20. We needed a Test captain because Virat was the Test captain till then, but he finished in South Africa.” Gavaskar said told news agency PTI during an interaction
“I always believed Rohit was a very good captain. So obviously, a request from the board went to him. He was reluctant because of workload. I remember having a conversation with him that you do not want to finish your career without captaining India in Test matches.” Gavaskar added
“He is a very adjustable and friendly person. If you have a conversation with him, he will accept. Who will not want to be India’s test captain. All these conversations were in person. I was a very hands-on board president. Meet players, talk to players,” Ganguly said
