“He Wasn’t Interested” – Rohit Sharma Denied Test Captaincy, Sourav Ganguly Confirms
Sourav Ganguly reveals Rohit Sharma was initially reluctant to take Test captaincy after Virat Kohli stepped down in 2022
Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has revealed that Rohit Sharma was not very keen to take over the Test captaincy after Virat Kohli stepped down in 2022. This news comes almost three years after India’s leadership shuffle made headlines.
Speaking to PTI, Ganguly shared that once Kohli gave up the red-ball captaincy after the South Africa series, the board looked at Rohit as the next option. However, Rohit was initially reluctant due to workload pressure, as he was already leading India in ODIs and T20Is.
“We always wanted Virat to continue, but he stepped down. Then we asked Rohit, who was already leading in white-ball formats, to take over. He was reluctant because of workload,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly added that he had a long chat with Rohit and convinced him by reminding him that he would regret retiring without leading India in Test cricket. After thinking it over for a few days, Rohit accepted the offer.
Rohit Sharma led India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing 9. He stepped down from Test captaincy in early 2025 and also announced retirement from red-ball cricket.
