Published 10:37 IST, October 24th 2019
Sourav Ganguly dismisses need for dual captaincy, backs Virat Kohli
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has dismissed the need for dual captaincy and has backed captain Virat Kohli to lead the Indian side in all formats of the game
BCCI President and former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has dismissed the need for dual captaincy and has backed captain Virat Kohli to be able to lead the side in all formats of the game. Sourav Ganguly assumed charge as the 39th BCCI President after he was elected unopposed, making him the second cricketer in 65 years to become the President of the board. As Sourav Ganguly addressed the press after he took charge, he expressed his confidence in the Indian team and its skipper Virat Kohli. Heaping praises on Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly said that he had taken Indian cricket to another level in the last 4-5 years.
Sourav Ganguly dismisses need for dual captaincy
The newly-elected BCCI President did away with the question of dual captaincy for India and backed current skipper Virat Kohli to be able to carry on with the job effectively. Responding to a reporter's query, Sourav Ganguly said the question of replacing Virat Kohli as the skipper does not arise as India has been in fine form and has had a winning run. Split captaincy has been advocated by many former cricketers and Indian fans, who believe that Rohit Sharma will be able to lead the side in the shorter formats of the game while Virat Kohli could lead the Test side. However, in sync with the selectors and the coach, Sourav Ganguly too has agreed that Virat Kohli is the best man for the job and that the need for split captaincy is not required at the moment.
Sourav Ganguly on supporting Virat Kohli
Speaking about the captain of the Indian cricket team, Sourav Ganguly said, “I will speak to Virat Kohli tomorrow (Thursday, October 24). He is the captain of India; I think he is the most important man in Indian cricket. I will have a word with him, and as I said, we will support him in every possible way. He wants to make this team the best in the world. It's been a great team, to be honest, the way they have played cricket in the last three to four years, they have been a fantastic side. Yes, you can say that they have not won a World Cup, but you don’t win World Cups every time. We will hopefully support him with whatever he wants and make sure that Indian cricket goes ahead smoothly. In terms of Test cricket venues, we have a lot of States and a lot of venues. We will have to sit with him (Virat Kohli) and see what he wants in that way and take it forward from there.”
Need to win big tournaments’
In an earlier statement, Sourav Ganguly had reiterated the importance of winning big tournaments, He on similar lines as the present press briefing said, “India is a very good side. My only thing is that they need to win big tournaments. I’m not saying they need to win every time. It’s not possible. But we have gone through seven big tournaments without winning one. They are a much better side than that. That is the only area where they need to get themselves ready mentally. Talent is enormous, otherwise, they couldn’t have played so well in the World Cup till the semi-finals. So that’s an issue which Virat needs to address. And that doesn’t happen in the boardroom.”
Updated 10:50 IST, October 24th 2019