BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Thursday (December 9) opened up on Rohit Sharma’s appointment as India’s new white-ball skipper, saying it was the unanimous call of the cricket board and the selection committee.
Rohit on Wednesday (December 8) replaced Virat Kohli as ODI skipper weeks after taking charge of the T20I side. He had led the team in the home T20I series against New Zealand last month after Kohli stepped down from the position following the T20 World Cup.
Speaking to ANI, Ganguly also revealed that he and chief selector Chetan Sharma also had a dialogue with Kohli. He also thanked Kohli for his contributions as a leader in the white-ball format.
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"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 said.
"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.
"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 chief added.
Rohit Sharma’s stint as full-time ODI captain will begin with the series against South Africa next month. Team India are due to play three ODIs on the South Africa tour from January 19 to January 23.
Rohit has the experience of leading India’s 50-overs side in the absence of Virat Kohli. The Mumbai batter has also produced impressive results, winning some bilateral series and the Asia Cup 2018.
