Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said on Virat Kohli’s captaincy controversy, ‘The board was not ready for his resignation’

Former India captain and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has finally opened up on one of the biggest controversies in Indian cricket in recent years. Ganguly’s clash with former India skipper Virat Kohli has been one of the major talking points over the past few years after the Indian batsman abruptly relinquished Test captaincy at the end of India’s tour of South Africa in 2021.

Ganguly was speaking to ‘Aaj Tak’ news channel after India’s 209-run defeat to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval in London on Sunday. This was India’s second consecutive defeat in the WTC final after losing to New Zealand in the inaugural edition.

The former BCCI president revealed that the Indian board was not ready for Kohli’s resignation and had to appoint Rohit Sharma as the all-format captain as he was the best choice at that time. “The BCCI was not ready to give up the Test captaincy of Virat Kohli. It was unexpected for us even after the South Africa tour. Only Virat Kohli can reveal why he left the captaincy. There is no point talking about it now because Virat Kohli had given up the Test captaincy. The selectors were to appoint India’s captain. And Rohit was the best option at that time,” Sourav Ganguly told Aaj Tak in an exclusive interview.

Kohli announced his decision to step down from his captaincy role from the T20 format of the game ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Following his decision, Kohli was stripped of his ODI captaincy duties, with rumors of a rift between Ganguly and the former captain. He then also resigned from the Test captaincy in 2021 after the series loss to South Africa.

Sourav Ganguly said, ‘BCCI was not ready to give up the Test captaincy of Virat Kohli. It was unexpected for us even after the South Africa tour. Rohit Sharma was the best option available at that time after Virat left. (on Aaj Tak). pic.twitter.com/DglU1J7Xiw

– Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 12, 2023

Ganguly praised Rohit Sharma for leading the Indian team brilliantly. “At that point, Rohit Sharma looked as the best option. He has won five IPLs. Whenever he has got a chance to captain, like in the Asia Cup, he has won. That was the best option. He also led the team to the WTC finals this time, even though we lost. We reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, even though I didn’t play well. Earlier (2021) we could not even qualify (for the knockouts). I have full faith in Rohit. Only he and MS Dhoni have won the IPL five times. No one else,” Ganguly said about Rohit Sharma.

‘Winning the IPL is more difficult than winning the World Cup’

The former BCCI president also said that winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) is tougher than winning the World Cup. “Winning the IPL is not that easy. It is a very tough tournament. Winning the IPL is more difficult than the World Cup. 14 games and then you get into the playoffs. You can become a champion only by winning 17 games. In the World Cup, you reach the semi-finals after 4-5 matches. I believe Rohit was the best option then and still is.