Critics have fallen silent since Rohit led India to their first T20 victory

Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has responded to his critics in the wake of Rohit Sharma's success as captain, pointing out that they have fallen silent since Rohit led India to their first T20 World Cup victory since 2007.

In an interview with the Bangla newspaper AajKaal, Ganguly was straightforward about his decision to appoint Sharma as Virat Kohli's successor after Kohli stepped down from T20 captaincy following the 2021 World Cup in the UAE.

“I was criticised when I handed over the captaincy to Rohit. And now that we’ve won a trophy under his captaincy, no one is abusing me. Everyone has forgotten that I made him the captain,” Ganguly remarked.

During Ganguly's tenure as BCCI chief, Kohli had announced his decision to step down from T20 captaincy and later from all formats.

Rohit, who previously captained India in T20s, took over the role in November 2021. Despite initial setbacks, such as falling short in the T20 World Cup in Australia, Rohit has led India to the finals of the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup, although Australia emerged victorious on both occasions.

Under Rohit’s captaincy, India has won 50 out of 62 T20 matches, making him the first captain worldwide to achieve this milestone in the format.