“BCCI wasn’t prepared for Virat Kohli leaving Test captaincy”: Ganguly reveals about Kohli Captaincy: Sourav Ganguly, a former captain of the Indian cricket team and now-former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has finally spoken out about one of the major controversies in recent years. After Team India’s sorrowful loss to Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Sunday, Ganguly made a charging comment regarding Virat Kohli.
One of the most talked-about recent events has been Ganguly’s conflict with ex-India captain Virat Kohli, who unexpectedly stepped down as Test captain after the conclusion of India’s tour to South Africa in 2021. Kohli and Ganguly, two of the greatest leaders to serve Indian cricket, were rumored to be at odds throughout Ganguly’s bittersweet tenure as the chairman of the nation’s cricket board.
Ganguly said that the BCCI had asked Virat to retain his position as Team India’s captain after Kohli had resigned as the team’s captain. However, in a surprising press conference prior to India’s away Test series against South Africa, Kohli had explicitly refuted Ganguly’s claim. After the pair’s ‘no-handshake’ incident during the IPL 2023 became the talk of the town, Ganguly and Kohli looked to have patched things up in their most recent public exchange.
After India’s 209-run setback to Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final on Sunday at the Oval in London, Ganguly gave an interview to the “Aaj Tak” news channel. India had previously lost to New Zealand in the first World Test Championship Final.
“BCCI was not prepared for Virat Kohli leaving the Test captaincy. It was unexpected for us also after the South Africa tour. Only Virat Kohli can reveal why he left the captaincy. There is no point talking about this now because Virat Kohli left the Test captaincy. Selectors had to appoint an India captain. And Rohit was the best option at that time,” Ganguly said.
Prior to the 2021 T20 World Cup, Kohli made the decision to relinquish the captaincy of the T20 stage of the game. After making his choice, Kohli was removed from his ODI captaincy role, and there were rumors that Ganguly and the former captain had been falling out. After losing a series to South Africa in 2021, he later decided to step down from his role as Test captain as well.
For more details head to ICC’s official website.