Sourav Ganguly Reacts To Indian Cricket Team Changing Too Many Captains

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has justified the decision to field numerous captains for different bilateral series. 

Since Virat Kohli relinquished captaincy duties from all formats in January, Rohit Sharma took over the reins from him.

However, the Indian opener has struggled to be available on a few occasions either through injury or sickness. Rohit missed the entire South Africa tour in January due to a hamstring injury. KL Rahul led India in the ODI series and also in the Johannesburg Test.

Indian cricket team has used eight captains since T20 World Cup 2021

Rahul was due to lead the side in the home T20I series against the Proteas in June, but he was ruled out on the eve of the series opener because of a groin injury. 

Rahul, who is the official vice-captain to Rohit, missed the entire tour of England in July. Pant captained India in the South Africa T20I series, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya led the team in two T20I matches in Ireland last month.

Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was elevated to captain’s role in the rescheduled fifth Test against England after Rohit tested positive for Covid-19.

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan wore the captain’s armband in the West Indies ODIs with key players rested for the T20I leg. Dhawan was expected to lead in the Zimbabwe ODIs as well, but the BCCI replaced him with KL Rahul regaining fitness. 

Sourav Ganguly explains the need to rotate captains in the Indian team

Ganguly mentioned that Rohit is the all-format captain of the Indian team, but in a tightly scheduled calendar year players are prone to injuries. The BCCI president pointed out India’s bench strength as a beneficial point for the national side. 

“Rohit Sharma is now the all-format captain. And they play so much, injuries are bound to happen and hence they do need injury breaks. This gives the advantage that there are a lot of new players who have come up. And we won in West Indies and in England with this new bunch of players. India now has a pool of 30 players who can now play for the national team anytime,” Ganguly told India Today. 

India will play the first ODI match against Zimbabwe on August 18 at the Harare Sports Club. 

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