BCCI had requested Virat Kohli to not step down as T20I captain, reveals Sourav Ganguly

The BCCI on Wednesday, December 8, appointed Rohit Sharma as India’s full-time ODI captain, and he will take over the role from Virat Kohli during the tour of South Africa. Earlier, after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021, Rohit Sharma was handed over the T20I captaincy as Virat Kohli stepped down from the leadership role in the shortest format of the game. The Indian opener has also been appointed as Kohli’s deputy in Test cricket, and will begin his stint as vice-captain from the upcoming tour of South Africa.

Kohli was appointed as India's full-time ODI and T20I captain with MS Dhoni stepping down from the role in 2017, and had great success in bilateral series across formats. However, the 33-year-old failed to claim an ICC trophy for the India senior Men's cricket team. Ahead of the recently concluded T20 World Cup, cricket fans and experts were surprised with Kohli’s decision to quit the captaincy role in the shortest format of the game.

Meanwhile, BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly has revealed that the governing body had requested Kohli to continue as India’s skipper in T20Is, but the 33-year-old did not agree to it. Ganguly further added that the selection committee decided against having different captains for two white-ball formats, and appointed Rohit Sharma as full-time captain of both ODI and T20I teams.

"It's a call that the BCCI and the selectors took together. Actually, the BCCI had requested Virat to not step down as the T20I skipper but obviously, he did not agree. And the selectors then did not feel it right to have two different captains for two white-ball formats," Ganguly told ANI. 

Ganguly further added that he personally spoke with Kohli along with the chairman of selectors.

"So it was decided that Virat will continue as Test captain and Rohit will take over as the white-ball captain. I as President personally spoke to Virat Kohli and the chairman of selectors has also spoken to him," he added.

Reflecting on BCCI’s decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as India’s limited-overs captain, Ganguly stated that the governing body have full faith in the 34-year-old’s leadership abilities. The former Indian captain further added that the BCCI are confident that Indian cricket is in good hands. 

"We have full faith in Rohit Sharma's leadership abilities, and Virat will continue as the Test captain. We as BCCI are confident that Indian cricket is in good hands. We thank Virat Kohli for his contributions as captain in the white-ball format," the BCCI president added.