BCCI wasn't ready for Virat Kohli's decision of leaving India's Test captaincy, says Sourav Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has admitted that the board was not prepared for Virat Kohli's decision to step down as India Test captain. Kohli, who had been in charge of the Test team since 2014, announced his decision to step down after India's 1-2 series loss against South Africa. 

In a recent interaction with Aaj Tak, former Indian captain said that Kohli was not asked to step down as T20 captain ahead of the 2021 World Cup in UAE.

"BCCI were not prepared for Virat Kohli leaving the Test captaincy. It was unexpected for us also after the South Africa tour. Only Virat Kohli can reveal why he left the captaincy. There is no point talking about this now because Virat Kohli left the Test captaincy. Selectors had to appoint an India captain. And Rohit was the best option at that time," Sourav Ganguly told Aaj Tak in an exclusive interview.

His comments came at a time when Kohli fans took to social media to demand that Kohli should become the test captain again after India witnessed a massive defeat against Australia under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.

In order to justify their demand, fans also shared details about Kohli's record as captain.To put some data for perspective, Kohli was the fourth-most successful captain in Test history, with 40 victories and 11 draws in 68 matches as the Indian captain. He also ranked third among all 28 Test captains who captained a team in 40 or more matches in terms of win percentage (50 per cent).

In December 2021, Virat Kohli announced that he would be stepping down as the captain of India's T20I team. However, he stated that he wanted to continue as the captain of the ODI and Test teams. However, the BCCI decided to replace Kohli as the captain of the ODI team as well. This decision was met with a lot of criticism, and many people speculated that there was a rift between Kohli and the BCCI.

In January 2022, Sourav Ganguly, the president of the BCCI, denied that there was any rift between Kohli and the board.

Kohli's comments in his interview with The Indian Express suggested that there was indeed some tension between him and the BCCI. In the interview, Kohli said that he was not informed about his removal as the ODI captain until 90 minutes before the team selection meeting for the South Africa tour. He also said that he was never given a reason for his removal.

Kohli's comments only added to the speculation about his relationship with the BCCI. 

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