'Didn't remove Virat Kohli from captaincy, he was...': Ex BCCI President Sourav Ganguly
PTC News Desk: Virat Kohli last year broke many hearts as he stepped down from Test captaincy. His exit raised a lot of questions. While the talismanic batter had decided to step down as India's T20 captain, he was not retained in the ODI format as well.
When Virat Kohli resigned as president of the BCCI, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was in charge. According to numerous reports, he played a significant role in Virat Kohli's removal. However, he has now stated that he had no part in it.
"I did not remove Virat as captain. This is something I've said several times. He had no desire to lead in T20Is. So, after he made that decision, I told him that if he didn't want to lead in T20Is, he should withdraw from all white-ball cricket formats. Sourav Ganguly said on Dadagiri, "Let there be a white-ball captain and a red-ball captain."
"I pushed Rohit Sharma a little bit to take over as captain because he wasn't interested in leading in all three formats of the game. So, while I may have had some influence, it is the players who perform well on the pitch, regardless of who is in charge. Nobody from the outside can make a significant contribution."
"I was appointed as the President of BCCI to work for the betterment of Indian cricket, this is a small part of it."
After Kohli stepped down as India's captain in all three formats, Rohit Sharma took over in T20Is, ODIs, and Tests.
"It has taken 7 years of hard work, toil, and unwavering perseverance to steer the team in the right direction. I did the job completely honestly and did not leave anything out."
"Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it's now. There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief. I have always believed in giving my 120 per cent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team," King Kohli said.
- With inputs from agencies
