NEW DELHI: When Virat Kohli quit the Test captaincy after the 2022 tour of South Africa, the shocking move stunned the cricketing world including the top brass of the Indian Cricket board.
Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly recently revealed that Kohli's announcement of stepping down as Test captain came as a surprise for the board and even they were not ready for it.
Ganguly's latest remarks came in the wake of fans calling for the reinstatement of Kohli as India's Test captain after the Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a 209-run defeat to Australia in the World Test Championship final.
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The then president Ganguly also said that it was Kohli's personal decision to quit captaincy and only he can reveal why he left the top job in the longest format of the game.
"BCCI was 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," Ganguly told Aaj Tak in an interview after the WTC final.
Kohli finished his tenure as the fourth-most successful captain in Test history, with 40 victories and 11 draws in 68 matches as the Indian captain.
The 34-year-old is only behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh on the list of captains with the most Test wins.
(With inputs from IANS)