Don't Know Why Virat Kohli Gave Up Test Captaincy: Sourav Ganguly

Virat Kohli had decided to step down as the captain of the Test team after India's 1-2 defeat to South Africa.

Virat Kohli of India reacts following defeat on day five of the ICC World Test Championship Final between Australia and India at The Oval on June 11, 2023 in London, England.

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The former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli were involved in a huge controversy during Ganguly's stint as the chief of the Indian cricket board. While several reports had suggested that Ganguly had a role to play in Kohli being sacked as the captain of the Indian test team, Kohli later resigned as the skipper of the Indian test team. And now long after that chapter has finished, Ganguly has given his take on how the Board was caught unprepared when Kohli resigned as the Test skipper.

Ganguly was back as a commentator in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final which India lost to Australia at the Oval in London. In an interview post India's defeat, Ganguly revealed that appointing Rohit Sharma as the Test skipper seemed like their best bet in the given circumstances. 

"No (on the board's preparedness on Kohli giving up Test captaincy). Not after the South Africa series. I don't know (why he did so), only he can tell. After Virat left, Rohit Sharma was the best option available at that time," Ganguly said on Aaj Tak.

He also went on to share his views on what he made of Kohli-  the Test captain- and rated him as a "very good" leader. He highlighted how India had a positive outcome in England and Australia under Kohli and Ravi Shastri (head coach).

"Kohli was a very good captain, India did really well under Kohli & Shastri, India played with a fearless attitude and showed guts in England & Australia. If they had played the Manchester Test at that time, they would've won the series in England as well," he stated.

Virat had wanted to quit the captaincy in just the T20 format but the BCCI reportedly appointed Rohit as the leader in both the formats to have one captain for white-ball cricket. After Virat's decision to resign as the Test captain, Rohit was named the captain in Tests as well.