Sourav Ganguly feels Virat Kohli has every right to voice opinion on India’s coach selection
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly believes a captain does have a major say on India’s coach selection process and Virat Kohli did nothing wrong by voicing his support for Ravi Shastri to extend his tenure as Team India head coach. Ganguly has backed skipper Kohli after the Indian captain revealed he will be happy to see Shastri retaining his portfolio as the coach of the Men In Blue in the near future. Speaking in the pre-departure presser ahead of the tour in the Caribbean, skipper Kohli answered the burning question regarding Shastri’s future as the head coach of Team India.
Even though India registered a bitter-sweet campaign in the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2019 hosted by England and Wales, Shastri’s position as the Indian head coach didn’t come under selectors’ scanner. Despite starting as favourites to lift the famous trophy at Lord’s, India didn’t even make it to the final as they were knocked out of the showpiece event in the semis at the hands of Kane Williamson-led New Zealand. By virtue of an 18-run defeat at Old Trafford, India were sent packing from the semi-final stage for the second consecutive time at the grandest stages of them all.
Following India’s return, rumours of a possible rift between captain Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma spread like wildfire. Citing the alleged rift rumours, the Indian captain across all formats was also expected to give the pre-departure press conference a miss. However, Kohli not only chaired the presser ahead of the Windies tour but he also supported Shastri’s stay and rubbished the rift rumours before boarding the flight with the team for the month-long tour in the Caribbean.
Coming to the support of the Indian captain, Ganguly defended Kohli’s remarks that he made during the pre-departure media interaction in Mumbai on Monday. Since Kohli is India’s leading man across all formats, he possesses the right to voice his opinion in terms of India’s coaching process, feels Ganguly who captained India from 2000 to 2005. “He is the captain. He has got every right to say,” Ganguly said referring to Kohli’s remark,
Ganguly was part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) which confirmed Shastri as the new coach of Team India following Anil Kumble’s departure in 2017. Ganguly along with other members including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman picked Shastri as the rightful successor to Kumble at the time. Though Shastri’s current contract with Indian cricket team will come to an end after the Windies tour, the former Indian cricketer is likely to get redesignated as India’s coach.
