BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday termed Rohit Sharma as a bit “laid-back” and said the Mumbaikar should be given some time to produce results. Amid workload management, COVID and injury concerns, India has seen as many as seven captains leading the team at various stages since the 35-year-old Rohit took over from Virat Kohli as full-time skipper across formats. Ganguly was impressed by Rohit, who has won a record five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles for Mumbai Indians, and said he should be given a longer rope before being compared with the likes of the great MS Dhoni and Kohli.

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

The former captain was replying to a query on the crop of Indian leaders since he called it quits.

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

“Then came Virat Kohli who also has a fantastic record. He was a different sort of captain, he did things differently.

“Every individual is different but what matters is the result and how many wins and losses you have. I don’t compare captains, everybody has their way of leadership.

“We give responsibility to someone, then we want him to do the things the way we want it, and I think that’s not correct. When you back someone let him captain, give him a bit of time to give results, and then see what happens.” Going back to the 2003 World Cup final against Australia, Ganguly’s decision to bowl may have come in for a bit of criticism as the Ricky Poting-led side toyed with the Indian attack to post a massive 359/2.

Australia won by a massive 125-run en route to their second successive triumph.

No regrets on the decision, Ganguly said.

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“I don’t think in retrospect. I was disappointed that I lost the final but I don’t think toss was the reason to lose the final. We did not play well,” he said.

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 has its rules and regulations. We at BCCI also have rules and protocols.”