Rohit Sharma Wasn't Keen To Become India's Test Captain After Kohli, Ganguly & Jay Shah Convinced Him – Report

Rohit Sharma was appointed as India’s full-time Test captain in February last year after Virat Kohli decided to step down from the role at the end of the South Africa series, which India lost by a margin of 1-2. Kohli, who left T20I captaincy after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021 and was removed from ODI leadership in December 2021, quit Test captaincy in January 2022, after which Rohit was made the captain of the Indian team in all three formats. But according to a report, the 36-year-old wasn’t initially keen to become the Indian captain in Test cricket, and it was then-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah who convinced him to take up the job.

A BCCI source shed light on Rohit’s appointment as Test captain and told PTI that after Virat quit Test captaincy in 2022, Rohit wasn't very keen to become the leader in the longest format initially as he didn't know whether his body would hold or not.

"The two top men at that time (former president Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah) had to convince him to take up the role once KL Rahul failed to impress as a captain in South Africa," the source said.

Under Rohit’s leadership, India hammered Sri Lanka by a margin of 2-0 at home, but due to COVID-19, he couldn’t play in the one-off rescheduled Test against England in July. Due to a finger injury, he was out of the two-match series against Bangladesh in December last year but returned for the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won 2-1. Under his leadership, India played the Aussies again in the World Test Championship final last week but went down by 209 runs.

After India suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of WTC 2023, Rohit’s future as Test captain is under scrutiny. It has been reported that he will lead the side in the West Indies next month, but after that, the selectors could make a decision on his future.

"These are baseless accusations that Rohit will be removed from captaincy. Yes, whether he will last the whole two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be nearly 38 when the third edition ends in 2025," a senior BCCI source was quoted as saying by BCCI. "As of now, I believe that Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues will have to take a call after the two Tests and look at his batting form."

"After the West Indies, we have no Tests till December's end, when the team travels to South Africa. So, there is enough time for selectors to deliberate and take a decision. By then, the fifth selector (the new chairman) will also join the panel, and a decision can be taken, he added.