Rohit Sharma became the Indian Test captain after Virat Kohli.
Former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly revealed that it was not easy to convince Rohit Sharma for the role after Virat Kohli left the Test captaincy after the South Africa tour in January 2022. Kohli ended his brilliant captaincy in Test cricket, recorded as the fourth most successful Test captain in history. After him, Rohit Sharma was appointed Test captain from the home series against Sri Lanka.
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Rohit’s hesitation
Ganguly was quoted by India Today as saying that Rohit Sharma was initially not ready for Test captaincy as he was worried about the workload. Ganguly said, “We wanted Virat to continue captaincy, but he refused. After this Rohit was given the responsibility. He was captaining Mumbai Indians and in ODIs and T20s. We needed a Test captain, as Virat ended his captaincy in South Africa. I believed that Rohit is a great captain. I requested him on behalf of BCCI to take up Test captaincy, but he was hesitant due to workload.”
Ganguly convinced Rohit
Ganguly had an intense conversation with Rohit to convince him. He said, “I told Rohit that you would not want to end your career without captaining the Indian Test team. He understood this. He thought for a few days and then agreed. Rohit is very flexible and accommodating. If you talk to him, he agrees and accepts things. After all, why would any Indian not want to captain Tests?” Rohit then accepted the captaincy and gave many great performances under his leadership.
Impact of Rohit’s captaincy
Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy gave a new direction to Indian cricket. However, the story of his hesitation and Ganguly’s persuasion shows that taking big decisions takes time and inspiration. Do you think Rohit’s captaincy experience can be an inspiration for young captains like Shubman Gill?
