Replacing Virat Kohli will take a bit of time: Sourav Ganguly

Former Indian captain and analyst Sourav Ganguly has revealed that when Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain from the longest format of the game, he wanted Rohit Sharma to step in as the new Test skipper.

Ganguly, who was then the BCCI President, also disclosed that Rohit was acting as the full-time captain across two white-ball formats. Though he took a couple of days, he made the decision of captaining Team India across three formats.

"We always wanted Virat (Kohli) to be the captain, but he did not want to continue. Then, of course, Rohit came in. He was captaining Mumbai Indians, he was captaining 50 over and T20. We needed a Test captain, because Virat was Test captain and he finished in South Africa," said Ganguly in an exclusive interview with PTI.

"I always believed that Rohit was a very good captain, so the request went from the Board, but he was reluctant because of workload. Then I remember having a conversation with him; I said, 'You don't want to finish your career without captaining India in Test matches'. He took a couple of days, then he agreed. He is a very adjustable person,” he added.

Rohit Sharma led Team India from 2022 to 2024 in Tests, propelling the national team to the WTC Final in 2023 against Australia. Under his leadership, Team India went on to win a Test series in the West Indies.

However, with both Kohli and Rohit announcing retirements from Tests, the BCCI and selection committee decided to appoint Shubman Gill as the new Test captain. However, Ganguly isn’t too concerned about Rohit Sharma’s retirement, stating that it would take a bit of time to replace Kohli.

"He is different; he's a world-class player. To replace Virat Kohli will take a bit of time. But the rest? I'm not surprised," Ganguly concluded.

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