When Virat Kohli stepped down as captain, it sparked considerable uproar and controversy. Fans directed criticisms towards BCCI across social media platforms.
Amidst this turmoil, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president at the time, was regarded as the key figure. Questions arose regarding Kohli’s role in relinquishing the captaincy.
Now, Sourav Ganguly has broken his silence and clarified that he had no involvement in Kohli’s decision to step down from captaincy. Ganguly’s statement has reignited discussions on this contentious issue.
Addressing various questions on the reality show ‘Dadagiri Unlimited Season 10,’ Ganguly explained that he did not remove Virat Kohli as captain. According to Ganguly, Kohli himself expressed disinterest in leading the Twenty20 format.
Consequently, upon Kohli’s decision, Ganguly suggested stepping down from captaincy across formats—Twenty20, ODI, and Tests—and Kohli voluntarily agreed.
Kohli made this decision to focus on his batting. Ganguly emphasized, “I did not remove Virat from the captaincy. I have said this many times. He was not interested in leading Twenty20. So, after he made this decision, I advised him that if he wasn’t keen on leading in Twenty20, it would be better for him to step down from ODI cricket as well. My belief was that one captain should oversee the limited-overs teams, while another should lead the Tests.”
Regarding the leadership role, Ganguly suggested that if Rohit Sharma plays across all three formats, he should captain the T20I team until the World Cup 2024.
Ganguly noted the current scenario where several players are absent; Suryakumar Yadav leads the T20 team, and Lokesh Rahul captains the ODI team. However, once Rohit Sharma returns to playing in all three formats, Ganguly expressed confidence that he should resume captaincy.
He commended Rohit’s stellar performance in the 2023 World Cup and identified him as a capable leader. Ganguly’s hope and belief are that Rohit Sharma will continue as Team India’s captain until the Twenty20 World Cup.
