The Selectors Didn't Want To Split Captaincy In White-Ball Cricket, Says Sourav Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said that the selectors didn’t want to split the captaincy in ODI and T20I format among Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Ganguly also revealed that the board and selectors had asked Kohli to reconsider his decision to quit the T20I captaincy but Kohli declined.

Kohli has already quit the T20I and IPL captaincy in September. In his last tournaments as a skipper, Royal Challengers Bangalore finished at third position in the IPL 2021. In the T20 World Cup played n the UAE, India couldn’t qualify for the semi-finals as they had lost to Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two games. The 33-year-old remained the ODI and Test captain after the showpiece event.

On Wednesday, the selection committee removed Kohli from the ODI captaincy duties and appointed Rohit Sharma as the skipper. Meanwhile, Ganguly said that the right-hander’s reluctance to continue as the T20I skipper led to a change in the 50-over captaincy as the selectors didn’t want to split the captaincy.

Sourav Ganguly Speaks Up On The Entire Fiasco

“The board and selectors had asked Virat to rethink his decision to quit T20 captaincy. He had declined the suggestion at the time. The selectors were uncomfortable with the idea of having two captains for white-ball cricket,” Sourav Ganguly told TOI on Thursday.

The former India skipper added that the team needed one vision given the fact that the team will play two ICC tournaments i.e T20 World Cup in 2022 and Cricket World Cup in 2023.

The BCCI president further added that he and selection committee chairperson Chetan Sharma spoke to Kohli and explained their vision. The new skipper Rohit Sharma has been appointed before naming the ODI squad for the three-match series against South Africa so that he can be part of the selection process.

“The chairman of the selection committee Chetan Sharma and I spoke to him. The picture was made clear to him… we explained the vision to him. He understood the situation and it was only then that Rohit was named the captain of the ODI team. The captain has been announced before the ODI team has been picked so that the new captain can also be part of the selection process,” the BCCI president further added.

“What’s also important is that Virat is in a good space. He is a very important part of the leadership group. His batting is very important too. I am sure he will be able to turn things around and be back to scoring big runs,” Sourav Ganguly said.

“Rohit’s record as a captain is exceptional. The selectors have a vision and I am sure they will share it with Rohit and the team management,” Sourav Ganguly further said.

The next few months in Indian Cricket will be something to look forward to. A new coach and the new captain will bring in a lot more changes and strive for an ICC trophy. Rohit Sharma, as a captain, has already laid out his vision going ahead.