Former BCCI President Opens Up About Convincing Rohit Sharma to Lead India in Tests
In a recent interview, former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly shed light on the behind-the-scenes conversations that led to Rohit Sharma taking over as India’s Test captain after Virat Kohli stepped down in early 2022.
Ganguly revealed that Rohit wasn’t immediately keen on accepting the role due to the workload. “We always wanted Virat to be captain, but he didn’t want to continue. And that was that. Then obviously, Rohit came in — he was captaining Mumbai Indians and was already leading in ODIs and T20Is,” Ganguly told PTI, as reported by News18.
Ganguly’s Conversation That Changed Rohit’s Mind
As the board looked for a new leader in red-ball cricket, Ganguly approached Rohit Sharma with a personal request. “He was reluctant because of the workload,” Ganguly said. “But then I remember telling him, ‘You don’t want to finish your career without captaining India in Test matches.’ That struck a chord with him.”
According to Ganguly, Rohit took a couple of days to think it over before accepting the role. “He’s a very adaptable and friendly person — if you have conversations with him, he’ll agree and do what’s right. And why wouldn’t anybody want to be in this Test game?” he added.
Rohit Sharma went on to lead India in 24 Test matches, winning 12 and losing 9. However, his stint also saw a few setbacks — India were whitewashed by New Zealand at home and lost the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.
Following the challenging tour of Australia, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirements from Test cricket. The captaincy baton has now passed to young star Shubman Gill, marking the start of a new era for India’s Test team.
