A day after former India white-ball captain Virat Kohli kicked up a raging storm with his press conference, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly declined to comment on the matter, saying the Board will deal with it.
Kohli, in his press conference ahead of the South Africa tour, had publicly contradicted assertions made by Sourav Ganguly, stating that he was not asked to continue as T20I skipper and was informed about his removal from ODI captaincy only one and half hours before the official announcement.
Kohli’s revelation was in stark contrast to statements made by Sourav Ganguly, who had claimed that he had personally tried to talk Kohli out of quitting the T20I captaincy.
“No statements, no press conference. We will deal with it appropriately, leave it to the BCCI,” Sourav Ganguly said.
Kohli contradicts Ganguly’s statements, says he was not asked to continue as T20I captain
Kohli on Wednesday dropped a bombshell during his press conference when he revealed that he was informed about his removal from ODI captaincy just one and half hours before the decision was taken officially. Addressing a press conference, the former white-ball captain of the Indian cricket team said that he was ready to continue as the one-day captain even after resigning as the T-20 captain, but the BCCI had other ideas. It is notable that BCCI had appointed Rohit Sharma as the one-day captain, saying there is no need for two white-ball captains.
He said that reports about the BCCI’s communication with him ahead of the decision were inaccurate, and he was contacted just before the selection committee meeting for the test team. There was no prior communication from BCCI after he had announced resigning as the T-20 captain. Virat Kohli said that he got a call from BCCI one and half hours before the meeting, and he was informed that all five selectors have decided to remove him from the captaincy of the one-day team. He accepted the decision of the committee, he informed.
Sourav Ganguly backs Rohit Sharma’s appointment, says he had asked Kohli to continue as T20I captain
The controversy erupted after BCCI on December 8 announced Rohit Sharma as the replacement of Virat Kohli to lead the Indian side in white-ball cricket. Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president, had then responded to the raging controversy, justifying the Board’s decision to go ahead with Rohit Sharma and providing a rationale for the same. In his exclusive interview with News 18, Sourav Ganguly threw his weight behind Rohit Sharma, stating that the Mumbai Indians captain deserved the full-time role and has also proved his pedigree as a white-ball skipper in the past.
Ganguly cited Rohit’s record and said the batter had led India to an Asia Cup victory without the presence of Kohli in the squad.
In addition to this, Ganguly revealed that he had personally requested Kohli to reconsider his decision of quitting the T20I captaincy and continue leading the side in the shorter format. However, Kohli went ahead with his decision to announce his resignation from the T20 captaincy, which ultimately paved the way for his removal from ODI captaincy.
“It’s like I said… I personally requested him (Kohli) not to give up T20I captaincy. Obviously, he felt the workload. Which is fine, he has been a great cricketer, he has been very intense with his cricket. He has captained for a long period of time and these things happen,” Ganguly had said as the controversy surrounding Kohli’s abrupt removal from ODI captaincy started gaining traction.
Ganguly further explained how he did not believe in split white-ball captaincy that led to Kohli’s dismissal as the ODI captain. “Because I have captained for a long period of time; therefore, I know. Also, they wanted only one white-ball captain. And that’s why this decision. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. But as I said, it’s a good team and it has some fantastic players and I hope they will turn it around,” Ganguly said in an interview.
