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Rohit Sharma is closing in on three years as India’s full-time all-format captain, and while there were a few bumps along the way initially, it’s all starting to come together for him at the right time. India are on a juggernaut at the 2023 World Cup, with just two wins away from clinching cricket’s ultimate prize. The team is operating at full throttle steamrolling oppositions along the way. India’s domination can be gauged by the fact that their last three wins have been by a margin of 100, 302 and 243 runs respectively.
However, funnily enough, all of this would not even have been possible. Sourav Ganguly, the former BCCI president, has revealed that after the stepping down of Virat Kohli, Rohit wasn’t up for India’s captaincy in all three formats, but eventually had to say yes to the ex-captain.
Kohli, one of India’s greatest captains, had opted to move as India’s T20I captain, after which he was infamously removed from the post in ODIs too. With Rohit set to take over captaincy in limited-overs and Kohli leading in Tests, of which he had become the country’s most successful captain, but when Virat dropped the bomb of walking away as Test captaincy too in January of 2022, the BCCI found itself in a soup. Ganguly’s SOS to Rohit didn’t work at first but the former board chief was able to convince him eventually.
“Rohit Sharma wasn’t keen (on taking up India’s captaincy in all three formats). It had gone to a stage where I told him ‘you’ll have to say yes otherwise I’ll make the announcement.’ Because he is an outstanding captain. And after Virat Kohli left, he was the best man to lead India. I am not surprised by what I am seeing,” Ganguly said in a chat with Kolkata TV.
Rohit had always previously filled in for Kohli as captain whenever Virat decided to rest or opt out of a series – he led India to victories at the Nidahas Trophy and the Asia Cup in 2018. So with Kohli deciding to bring the curtains down on his reign as India captain, Rohit was the obvious choice with body of work which includes five IPL titles. Ganguly said Rohit’s reluctancy stemmed from a busy workload. He was already 33 playing non-stop cricket, but thankfully, he made the right and wise decision.
“Lot of cricket; Tests, ODIs, T20, IPL – he was already a captain there, lot of pressure. So he had a lot of his plate. But nothing can be bigger than being an India captain. I am happy that he took it and it makes me glad seeing the results,” added Ganguly.
Rahul Dravid wasn’t on board initially either
Rohit wasn’t the only one hesitant about the role. After Ravi Shastri’s contract expired, even Rahul Dravid wasn’t willing to take up the role of head coach. He had a stellar record with the India Under 19, India A and as director of the National Cricket Academy. But again, the BCCI didn’t have too many options, and Dravid, realising the importance of this post and how it could lead to the betterment of Indian cricket, agreed.
“It’s a lot of time on the road. He has a young family, two young kids. Plus, he played cricket all his life. So it’s not easy coaching but he agreed thinking about Indian cricket and I wish he does it in the future too. A coach needs to be given time; it isn’t magic for a coach to produce instant results in 3-4 months. He needs time to turn things around which he has now, second year in his tenure,” Ganguly said as he hailed Dravid.
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