Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has revealed that Rohit Sharma didn’t want to take the captaincy across all formats after Virat Kohli stepped down. However, Ganguly wanted the Indian opener to take the role and convinced him somehow.
“Rohit didn’t want the captaincy because there was a lot of pressure on playing all formats – it had gone to a stage where I told him you have to say yes or I will announce your name. I am happy he has taken it now he is leading from the front and you guys can check the results,” Ganguly said in an interview to Kolkata TV.
The Indian cricket team went through controversial in early 2022 when Virat Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain. However, the 35-year-old was keen to continue to lead in the other two formats.
However, the selectors wanted one captain in white-ball cricket and announced Rohit as ODI and T20I captain which reportedly irked Kohli. The star batter than shockingly stepped down from Test captaincy after India lost the Test series in South Africa. Rohit Sharma was then also announced the Test captain.
Rohit has recieved a lot of praise from former cricketers for the way he has led the Indian team in the ongoing Cricket World Cup. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir called the Indian opener a “selfless captain” for putting the team above personal milestones.
“Leader – the thing he wants from the team, he does it himself. If you expect positive batting from your teammates, you have to do it yourself. This act – leading from the front – you have to do it yourself. No kind of PR or marketing agency can do it for you,” Gautam Gambhir had said on Start Sports.
Rohit Sharma has led the team from front, scoring 442 runs in 8 innings and being India’s second highest scorer after Virat Kohli in the tournament. The skipper will next be seen in action against Netherlands on November 12.
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