 "Sourav Ganguly reveals why Rohit Sharma was reluctant to become Test captain after Virat Kohli; how he changed his mind")
Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has shared some interesting insights into how Rohit Sharma became India’s Test captain after Virat Kohli stepped down. Rohit was appointed the captain of Team India across formats after Kohli gave up the role in 2021–22, following a difficult period in which India lost to Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup match and were defeated by South Africa in a Test series.
Speaking to PTI, Ganguly explained how Rohit was initially hesitant about taking the responsibility but eventually agreed after some convincing. Ganguly was at the top post of Indian cricket at the time and played a role in convincing Rohit for the job. Ganguly revealed that Rohit didn’t want to take up Test captaincy because of the workload management.
“We always wanted Virat to be captain, but he did not want to continue. And that’s what it was. And then obviously Rohit came in, he was captaining Mumbai Indians. He was captaining 50-over, T20. We needed a test captain because Virat Kohli was Test captain by then and he finished in South Africa. I always believed that Rohit was a very good captain. So obviously, the request from the board, I went to him that you know you should captain in test matches. He was reluctant because of workload,” Ganguly told PTI.
Here’s how Ganguly convinced Rohit
Ganguly said that he had a personal conversation with Rohit about how he shouldn’t end his Test career without captaining India.
“But then I remember having a conversation with him that, you don’t want to finish your career without captaining Indian test matches. So that struck a chord with him, and then he took a couple of days and then he agreed. He’s a very adjustable person, very friendly person, if you have conversations with him, he’ll agree and accept and do things. And why wouldn’t anybody want to be in this test game?,” he added.
Rohit took over the Test captaincy in 2022 and led India in multiple series, including the 2023 World Test Championship final, where they lost to eventual winners Australia. In the 2023–25 WTC cycle, Rohit led the team brilliantly before a slump in the latter stages, with back-to-back losses against New Zealand and Australia. India also suffered their first-ever home Test series defeat to the Kiwis.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAfter their loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, India failed to qualify for the WTC final. Rohit announced his retirement from the longest format last month, days before the BCCI unveiled the squad for the England series in the new WTC cycle. Kohli also stepped down a few days later, announcing his retirement on social media.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
