ganguly: Rohit is a bit laid back: Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said Rohit Sharma is “a bit calm” when it comes to captaincy and wants the Mumbaikar to get enough time to deliver results. Amid concerns over workload management, COVID and injury, India has seen seven captains lead the side at various stages ever since the 35-year-old Rohit took over from Virat Kohli full-time across formats.

Ganguly was impressed with Rohit, who has won a record five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles for Mumbai Indians, and said that he should be given a long rope before comparing him with the likes of great MS Dhoni and Kohli.

Ganguly said during the Bengal Peerless event on ‘Leadership in Modern India’ here, “Rohit Sharma is obviously a bit of a nerd who takes things in a very calm and cautious way, not someone who is in your face all the time. ”

The former captain was responding to a question about the Indian leaders’ crop as he skipped it.

“India has produced some great captains over the years. MS Dhoni who handled the transition fantastically, and continues to garner praise not only for India but for his franchise (Chennai Super Kings).

“then came

Kohli’s record is also excellent. He was a different kind of captain, he did things differently.

He said, ‘Every person is different but what matters is the result and how many wins and losses you have. I don’t compare captains, everyone has their own way of leading.

“We give responsibility to someone, then we want him to do things the way we want him to, and I think that’s not right. When you give captaincy to someone, he has a little time to deliver results. Give, and then see what happens.”

Going back to the 2003 World Cup final against Australia, Ganguly’s decision to bowl may have received little criticism as the Ricky Ponting-led side played with the Indian attack with a massive 359/2.

Australia won by a huge margin of 125 runs on their way to their second win in a row.

Ganguly said that there is no regret over the decision.

“I don’t look back. I was disappointed that I lost the final but I don’t think the toss was the reason for losing the final. We didn’t play well,” he said.

When asked to comment on FIFA’s ban on Indian football, he said: “I don’t deal with football so I won’t be able to answer that question. But I think every sports body has a system, every sports body We have our own rules and regulations. In BCCI also we have rules and protocols.

Originally published at Pen 18