(AP Photo)
Following Rohit Sharma’s leadership in securing Team India’s T20 World Cup triumph last month, Sourav Ganguly, the former captain and current BCCI president, has responded assertively to his detractors.
During Ganguly’s tenure as BCCI president in 2021, Virat Kohli was removed as the limited-overs captain, a decision that sparked considerable controversy and criticism directed at Ganguly. Shortly thereafter, Kohli also stepped down from his Test captaincy. Ganguly had faced intense scrutiny at the time, with many holding him accountable for Kohli’s leadership changes. Rohit Sharma was appointed as the captain across all formats in place of Kohli.
Initially, Ganguly had maintained that the decision to change the captaincy was made in consultation with Kohli. However, Kohli contradicted this, asserting that he had been ousted from his ODI captaincy role against his will. Ganguly later clarified that the board’s decision stemmed from the desire for a single captain for white-ball cricket, prompting Kohli’s removal from the ODI captaincy following his resignation from the T20I role.
Sourav Ganguly hits back
With Rohit Sharma excelling as captain across all formats, Sourav Ganguly has seized the moment to respond to his critics from three years ago. The former India skipper pointed out that while the nation revels in the glory of the T20 World Cup 2024 victory under Rohit’s leadership, few recall that it was he who initially appointed Rohit as captain.
“When I handed Rohit Sharma the captaincy of the Indian team, everyone criticised me. Now that India has won the T20 World Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, everyone has stopped abusing me for it. In fact, I think everyone has forgotten that it was I who appointed him as the captain of the Indian team,” Sourav Ganguly told Ajkaal.
In recent years, Rohit Sharma has enjoyed significant success as a captain across various formats. In the past year alone, he steered India to the final of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, marking India’s first appearance in the ODI World Cup final since 2011. Additionally, Team India clinched victory in the Asia Cup during the same period.
Adding to his accolades, Rohit led the team to a triumphant campaign in the T20 World Cup last month, bringing an end to India’s 11-year drought for an ICC trophy. Following this achievement, Rohit announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game, paving the way for a new T20I captain for India in the near future.
