‘Let’s not take this further’: Ganguly on rift with Kohli

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly on Friday refused to speak on white-ball captaincy row following remarks of Virat Kohli on his earlier comments. 

“Let’s not take this further, I have nothing to say,” Ganguly said when asked if action will be taken against Kohli after the South Africa tour. “I have nothing to say. It is a matter for the BCCI and they will only deal with it.”

A day after Kohli was removed as one-day captain, Ganguly said he had spoken to Kohli regarding the leadership change, adding that he had requested him to also not give up the T20I captaincy.

Also read: It was solely Kohli’s decision to quit as T20 captain, says Ganguly

“It’s a call that the BCCI and the selectors took together. Actually, the BCCI had requested Virat to not step down as the T20I skipper but obviously, he did not agree. And the selectors then did not feel it right to have two different captains for two white-ball formats,” he said.

“So it was decided that Virat will continue as Test captain and Rohit will take over as the white-ball captain. I as president personally spoke to Virat Kohli and the chairman of selectors has also spoken to him.”

However, Kohli held a press conference on Wednesday and contradicted Ganguly, saying he was never asked to leave the T20I captaincy.

Also read: Kohli’s use of words could have upset BCCI officials, thinks Gavaskar

“Whatever was said about the communication that happened during the decision that was made was inaccurate. I was contacted one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting on the 8th for the Test series,” Kohli said.

Kohli-led Indian red-ball squad is in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will take on the Proteas in a three-match Test series.

The first Test begins on December 26.