BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who turned 50 on July 8, opened up on India fielding with seven different skippers in the last few months.
India’s multiple captaincy changes, albeit for a temporary basis with an aim to address workload management and a product of untimely injuries, has been a major subject of discussion among fans and experts recently.
Since the completion of the T20 World Cup 2021, India have been led by Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah across formats, with Shikhar Dhawan set to lead the ODI side during their upcoming West Indies tour, thereby totalling to eight captains.
The BCCI president addressed the issue in his recent interview with the Times of India, admitting that it isn’t ideal while also reflecting on the reasons.
“I fully agree that it is not ideal to have seven different captains in such a short span of time but it has happened because of unavoidable situation”.
“Like Rohit was all set to lead in South Africa in white-ball but before the tour, got injured. So we had KL (Rahul) leading in ODIs and then for this recent SA home series, KL got injured one day before the series would start.”
he said.
Ganguly, who played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs in a career spanning over a decade-and-a-half, and is widely hailed as one of India’s most successful captains, stated that continuity in playing is key to fitness.
“Let me tell you something which I have believed all through my international career. The more you play, the better you get and fitter you become. At this level, you need game time and your body becomes stronger as you start playing more and more games,”
he added.
