Ganguly opens up on Rohit being named India’s ODI skipper

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly on Thursday said the board and selectors together took the call to appoint Rohit Sharma as the full-time white-ball captain of the side.

Opening batter Rohit Sharma was on Wednesday named India’s new ODI skipper and the star player will take over from Virat Kohli starting with the South Africa series in January next year. Ganguly also informed that he and the chairman of selectors had also spoken to Kohli. The former Indian skipper also thanked Kohli for his contributions in the limited-overs format.

“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.

“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 president added. Rohit was also named as India’s Test vice-captain as the All-India Senior Selection Committee picked an 18-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa. The Test series, which gets underway from December 26, will form a part of the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship.