"Ganguly needs to answer this" - Salman Butt on Kohli contradicting BCCI president's claims

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt feels that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly must respond to Virat Kohli’s claims about never being told to stay on as T20I captain.

In an unusually frank press conference on Wednesday, Kohli contradicted Ganguly’s statement that the latter had personally requested him to carry on as T20 leader. Kohli claimed he never received any such communication from anyone in the BCCI.

Reacting to Kohli’s statement, Butt said it is imperative for Ganguly to clear the air for the betterment of Indian cricket. Sharing his thoughts on his YouTube channel, Butt, himself a former captain, said:

“Ganguly needs to answer this for the betterment of Indian cricket. He is the President of the BCCI and Kohli contradicting him in public is not a small thing. On one hand, Ganguly said he had requested Kohli not to step down from T20 captaincy. But Kohli has now come out and claimed that no one from BCCI ever spoke to him about it. These are two completely contrasting statements. This is unrest.”

Butt added that BCCI have made the right decision by handing over India’s limited-overs leadership to Rohit Sharma. However, according to him, the entire process of doing so was flawed. The 37-year-old elaborated:

“It is not a question of captaincy. Debate is not about Rohit taking over. He is a good captain and has proved himself at the international and IPL level. The procedure to pass on the responsibility from one great to another was not smooth. Unnecessary controversy has been created and there will be trust deficit between Kohli and Ganguly going ahead.”

During the press conference, Kohli also claimed that he was not intimated in advance about being replaced as ODI captain. He said that he came to know of the decision one and a half hours before the selection meeting for the South Africa Test series (on December 8).

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“Rohit’s biggest test will be to keep team united” - Salman Butt on aftermath of Kohli’s claims

While Kohli, not for the first time, rubbished all rumors of a rift between himself and Rohit, Butt feels things might not be as easy for the new ODI captain. He explained:

“Rohit’s biggest test now will be to keep the team united, despite all that has happened in Indian cricket in recent times. If he passes the test, he will prove to be a wonderful leader.”

Rohit was named India’s new one-day captain on the same day that the Test squad for the South Africa series was announced. He has been ruled out of the Test series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury. There is no clarity over his availability for the ODI leg of the tour.