‘Only he can reveal why…’ – Sourav Ganguly’s bold statement about his controversy with Virat Kohli
Sourav Ganguly (left) and Virat Kohli (right) (Source: Twitter)
Former Indian Cricket Board President, Sourav Ganguly stated a big statement on former India skipper Virat Kohli after the completion of the second edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which they lost to Australia by 209 runs at The Oval, London. Two of the finest captains of Indian cricket, Kohli and Ganguly were believed to be at odds during the latter’s tenure as Indian Cricket Boards chairman.
When the 34-year-old left the captaincy of Men in Blue, the former Indian opener asserted that the Indian board had requested Kohli to not step down from the captaincy of the national side. However, Kohli challenged Ganguly’s statement in a press conference before India’s test series against South Africa. In the recent public interaction, following their ‘no-handshake’ incident, which became the talking point during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Ganguly and Kohli have decided to leave the past behind.
There was no prior communication to me at all from when I announced the T20I captaincy decision: Virat Kohli
While speaking to Aaj Tak, after the completion of the WTC final 2023, the southpaw recalled his tenure at the Indian Cricket Board. The left-hand batter claimed that Indian Cricket Board had issues regarding Kohli stepping down as Test captain.
“Indian Cricket Board was not prepared for Virat Kohli leaving the Test captaincy. It was unexpected for us also after the South Africa tour. Only Virat Kohli can reveal why he left the captaincy. There is no point talking about this now because Virat Kohli left the Test captaincy. Selectors had to appoint an India captain. And Rohit was the best option at that time,” Ganguly was quoted as saying in Aaj Tak.
Ahead of the South Africa series, the right-hand batter opined that he was told that his captaincy tenure has come to an end just one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting for the South Africa tour. “There was no prior communication to me at all from when I announced the T20I captaincy decision until the eighth (of December) where, as I said, I got a call one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting,” Kohli stated.
