Sourav Ganguly Opens Up On Decision To Replace Virat Kohli With Rohit Sharma

Ex-Indian Cricket Board President Sourav Ganguly has spoken up on his decision to replace Virat Kohli as the captain of the Indian Men’s Cricket Team. Dynamic Indian opening batter, Rohit Sharma was selected as the full-time captain across all formats of the game after Kohli stepped down from his role in Tests and T20Is back in 2022. During that transition period, Ganguly was the chief of the Indian apex council for cricket and there were multiple reports about a suspected rift between him and the modern Indian run machine. Ganguly earlier revealed that the Indian management had asked Kohli to reconsider his decision to step down as the T20I skipper. 

On the big decision to replace Kohli that was taken approximately two years back,  the former Indian skipper Ganguly said that he envisioned great potential in Rohit, considering his record in the Indian T20 League with the Mumbai franchise. 

Rohit Sharma took India to the final of the World Cup ODI, which was hosted on home soil, last year. But all went in vain as Australia’s stellar performance in the final shattered India’s dream of a fairytale finish after a long wait of a decade.

The veteran Indian legend expressed that India were the best team in the tournament and he wasn’t surprised by the way Rohit led India during the marquee event. 

"Look at the way he captained in the World Cup. Taking India to the final. I think India was the best team in the competition till they lost the final. So he is a good captain, IPL trophies. I am not surprised by the way he led. He became the captain when I was the BCCI president, and I am not surprised by the way he has led the team. I made him the Indian captain because I saw the talent in him, and I am not surprised by what he has done," Ganguly told the press.

In the recent chain of events, Rohit led Team India to a 17th consecutive Test series win on their home soil. Lost the series opener against the “Three Lions” but came back unexpectedly to an unassailable lead 3-1 in the series with the final game to be played in Dharamsala from March 7. 

In the meantime, Rohit Sharma currently lost his long-term captaincy to Hardik Pandya at the Mumbai Indians franchise. Hardik who was earlier part of the five-time champions’ team left to lead Gujarat for the last two seasons winning one and reaching the final last season. He was traded from Gujarat to Mumbai franchise in the Indian T20 League Mini auction 2024 , and Shubman Gill is set to lead the 2022 champions after his departure.