Why Rohit Sharma Reluctantly Accepted Test Match Captaincy, The Untold Story
India's Test skipper Rohit Sharma was initially not too keen on accepting the mantle of Test captain, as he recently told Sourav Ganguly. Ganguly, then president of BCCI, had decided to appoint Rohit as captain over his objections soon after Virat Kohli quit the position in 2022.
Rohit Sharma’s Journey to Test Match Captaincy
Speaking on Revsportz, Ganguly shared that Rohit was feeling totally overburdened as he was leading the team in all other formats, but a lovely talk with Ganguly made him change his perspective. Ganguly said he begged Rohit not to call it quits without having a crack at the ultimate challenge of Test captaincy. He reminded Rohit that the job of captaining India in Tests carried heavy honor, and he had every quality to be in that position. Ganguly said he wasn't surprised by whatever Rohit has achieved so far as a captain because he always believed in him.
The Indian cricket team is currently preparing for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with Australia, an all-important contest in which they will have to win all four matches to make it into the World Test Championship final. Former skipper Ganguly said the Indians would need Rohit's leadership and presence and hoped he would travel to Australia early. He said, "If I were in his place, I would have played the Perth Test. India needs a strong leader right from the start. Rohit, however, is currently at present on a slide in form.
Former Indian captain urges Rohit Sharma to take part in the First Test versus Australia 🇮🇳🇦🇺#RohitSharma𓃵 pic.twitter.com/qYosmy2o5L
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) November 17, 2024
He didn't excel against Bangladesh nor against New Zealand in the Test series recently. However, he was good throughout the T20 World Cup 2024. Still, his Test performance hasn't been of great standards with scores of 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, and 11 in the last six innings. Fans can only wish for a change of fortunes for him before India takes on Australia on November 22 in Perth for their first Test.
