Rohit Sharma wasn’t keen to lead India: Sourav Ganguly

Every aspiring cricketer has a dream of captaining the national team someday. Being the leader of a cricket-crazy nation like India is no easy task. However, the honour of leading India is something that many players want a taste of.

After Virat Kohli’s tenure as India captain ended, Rohit Sharma took up the role. However, Sourav Ganguly, who was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during that time, recently said in an interview that the Mumbai batter wasn’t keen on taking up captaincy as he was playing a lot of cricket and had a lot on his plate.

“Rohit [Sharma] didn’t want the captaincy because there was a lot of pressure on playing all formats – it had gone to a stage where I told him you have to say yes or I will announce your name. I am happy he has taken it now he is leading from the front and you guys can check the results,” the former India captain said in an interview with Kolkata TV.

Rahul Dravid agreed to coach thinking about Indian cricket: Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly said that Rahul Dravid was also not keen to take up the coaching role of the Indian senior team as he would have had to invest a lot of time away from home. However, the legendary batter agreed, keeping in mind the best interests of Indian cricket.

“It’s a lot of time on road. [He has a] young family, two young boys, plus he has played all his life. So, it’s not easy coaching, being on the road all the time. But he agreed, thinking about Indian cricket and I hope he will continue in the future because a coach needs to be given time. This is not magic that he will change his team in three, four, or five months. He needs to be given minimum time,” Sourav said.

India have already booked their ticket to the semi-finals of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. They are the only unbeaten team in the tournament, winning all eight matches they have played. Their final league game is against the Netherlands on Sunday, November 12 in Bengaluru.