India wanted sole white-ball skipper, says BCCI boss Ganguly
Courtesy
|| CF DESK ||
Virat Kohli's decision to give up the 20-overs captaincy resulted in him being removed as India's one-day skipper as selectors did not want to have two different white-ball captains, India board (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly said.
On Wednesday, opener Rohit Sharma was named one-day captain, a month after succeeding Kohli as T20 captain during their disastrous World Cup campaign.
The board, which rarely explains even routine decisions, did not even mention Kohli by name in conveying the leadership change in a single sentence at the bottom of a press release announcing the test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
"The board and selectors had asked Virat to rethink his decision to quit T20 captaincy. He had declined the suggestion at the time," former captain Ganguly told Friday's Times of India newspaper.
"The selectors were uncomfortable with the idea of having two captains for white-ball cricket."
Kohli led India to the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019, but they were eliminated from the Twenty20 World Cup group stage this year.
Kohli, who is still the test captain, was desperate to lead India in the 50-overs showpiece on home soil in 2023, despite being pleased to play under Rohit in the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia next year.
"He has done well even as an ODI captain. But it was not going to be easy to have two captains in white-ball cricket with two World Cups in two years," Ganguly said.
"The selectors felt the team needed one vision and varied styles of captaincy could disrupt the planning."
