We had requested Virat Kohli to not step down as T20I captain: Sourav Ganguly

Irrespective of India’s efficiency on the T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli would have stayed as white-ball captain if he wouldn’t have relinquished T20I captaincy. Once Kohli give up captaincy within the shortest format, the selectors determined to utterly separate red-ball and white-ball leaderships to keep away from confusion.
“We (BCCI) had requested Virat not to step down as T20I captain. There was no plan to change captaincy. But he stepped down as T20I captain and the selectors decided not to split limited-overs captaincy, opting for a complete separation,” Ganguly informed The Indian Express.
There’s a college of thought that the failure to win an ICC occasion had put Kohli’s limited-overs captaincy beneath strain and the end result on the T20 World Cup may have had a bearing. However, it’s understood that the selectors would have retained Kohli as captain in all codecs.
Ganguly spoke in regards to the crew’s good efficiency throughout codecs beneath Kohli’s cost, though not successful an ICC occasion remained the one lacking piece. In reality, to assist Kohli, the BCCI introduced in MS Dhoni because the crew mentor for the T20 World Cup, a choice that was “completely accepted” by India’s former white-ball skipper.
India crashed out of the T20 World Cup within the group section, nevertheless it wouldn’t have jeopardised Kohli’s place.
But because the latter refused to proceed as T20I captain, the selectors needed to appoint Rohit Sharma for all limited-overs cricket. “The bottom line is that there can’t be two white-ball captains,” mentioned the previous India captain.

Indian cricket is normally not used to completely different captains in numerous codecs, one thing which is prevalent in England and Australia. Asked if cut up captaincy and two energy centres within the crew can create issues going forward, Ganguly replied within the unfavourable. India had cut up captaincy earlier than, for 2 years, when Kohli captained the Test crew and Dhoni led in limited-overs cricket.
The BCCI chief spoke about speaking with Kohli in regards to the ODI captaincy change. “I spoke to him. Chief selector spoke to him,” mentioned the Board chief, whereas wishing Rohit all the very best and anticipating that he would do an excellent job.
Three months in the past, whereas relinquishing T20I captaincy, Kohli had expressed his need to steer India in Tests and ODIs, going forward.
“Understanding workload is a very important thing and considering my immense workload over the last 8-9 years playing all 3 formats and captaining regularly for last 5-6 years, I feel I need to give myself space to be fully ready to lead the Indian team in Test and ODI cricket,” he wrote on Instagram on September 16. He additionally gave up Royal Challengers Bangalore captaincy within the IPL.
Kohli has been some of the profitable white-ball captains. In 95 ODIs, he received in 65. In 45 T20Is, he led India to victory 27 instances. But a type hunch might be a cause why he didn’t need to proceed as T20I captain, to pay attention extra on his batting. Over the previous two years, he has scored 560 runs in 12 ODIs with out a century. His common throughout this era is 46.66, nicely under his profession common of 59.07. In 20 T20Is throughout the identical interval, he has scored 594 runs at 49.50, whereas in 13 Tests within the final two years, he made 599 runs at a median of 26.04.
Rohit has been Kohli’s longstanding deputy in limited-overs cricket, captaining the crew in 10 ODIs and 19 T20Is earlier than he was given the full-time cost throughout the lately concluded three-match house collection towards New Zealand. He began with a clear sweep. Five IPL titles, main Mumbai Indians, made him a shoo-in as Kohli’s successor.

Ganguly assured about South Africa tour
Meanwhile, Ganguly exuded confidence that India would do nicely within the upcoming three-Test collection in South Africa and refused to learn an excessive amount of into the middle-order jitteriness. “The team has won in Australia and they are leading 2-1 in England,” he mentioned.
The BCCI president additionally confirmed VVS Laxman’s appointment because the director of cricket on the National Cricket Academy, whereas Troy Cooley’s would be the quick bowling coach. “They have been appointed. No fresh application is required.”