‘If it’s a sacking…’: Sourav Ganguly explains why Rohit Sharma was replaced as captain, says ‘happened to me and Dravid’

Sourav Ganguly explains why Rohit Sharma got replaced as captain. (Photo: PTI)

Former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has refused that Rohit Sharma got sacked from captaincy and stated that the change of role is routine in the career of a player who's career is coming to an end. Ganguly said that even he and Rahul Dravid experienced similar moments when their cricketing careers were coming to an end.

Rohit has been replaced by Shubman Gill as the new ODI captain after his recent brilliant stint with India’s consecutive ICC titles, including the Champions Trophy this year. The upcoming tour of Australia will mark Gill’s first series, where three ODIs will be played, starting with October 19.

Also Read | Beyond the Game: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the silent battle of mental health in sports

In a chat with India Today on Thursday, Ganguly said that the decision to change the leader was not a bad one, but rather a choice made after talks between the selectors and Rohit, who is 38. He remarked that age was a logical explanation for the decision.

"I’m sure Rohit must have been spoken to. I'm not sure if it's a sacking. I’m sure it’s a mutual discussion. Rohit has been an outstanding leader — he’s won the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy. Performance is not the issue with Rohit Sharma. In 2027, Rohit will be 40. That's a big number in sport. It happened to me, it happened to Dravid... It happens to everyone. Even Shubman Gill will face the same at 40. Everyone in sport has to finish someday," he said.

"Not a bad decision to promote Gill. He's shown a lot of talent in England. I think it’s a fair call... Rohit can keep playing while you groom a young captain," said Ganguly.

Also Read | Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to get at least three rounds of Vijay Hazare Trophy before New Zealand ODIs

Earlier last week, when chief selector Ajit Agarkar made the official announcement, he explained that it was a forward-looking decision, with the aim of giving Gill enough time before the World Cup.

“Obviously, at some stage, you have to start looking at where the next World Cup is. It’s also a format which is played the least now. So, you don’t get that many games to actually give the next guy or if there is going to be another guy that much time to prepare himself a plan,” Agarkar said.

“The World Cup is still two years away. That might look like a long time, but we don’t quite know how many One-Day games we might play closer to the World Cup. We might end up playing a little bit more than what we have. The last ODI we played was in March during the Champions Trophy and the next one we play is on October 19. So, it is a bit of a challenge with One-day cricket at the moment,” he explained by saying that the preparation for the ODI World Cup has begun slowly.

“That’s the plan. It gives the next guy enough time to plan with whatever games that we have,” Agarkar added.