3 key talking points from a recent TV interview with Sourav Ganguly: Sourav Ganguly, a former captain of India and ex-CEO of the BCCI, has recently made headlines for his remarks about Indian cricket. He has returned to commentary and cricket analysis after a turbulent spell as the head of the Indian cricket board.
When it came to the Indian team’s performance on Day 5 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, Ganguly was one of many former cricketers who voiced his displeasure. India needed 280 runs to defeat Australia at The Oval on the last day of play and had seven wickets in hand. Virat Kohli was at the crease, giving supporters and detractors hope even though India was in trouble.
However, it was a letdown as India lost their second innings for 234 runs, leaving them down by 209 runs. However, Ganguly claimed that 280 runs were being anticipated excessively because there were only three competent hitters left in Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravindra Jadeja.
In an interview with India Today following the embarrassing loss in the WTC championship, Ganguly discussed a number of important problems pertaining to Indian cricket. Here are the conversation’s three main takeaways.
1 “BCCI were not ready for Virat Kohli to step down as Test captain,” said one source
The assertion that BCCI was unprepared for Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as captain and surprised by it was the main talking point from Ganguly’s interview.
After the UAE World Cup in 2021, Kohli made the decision to step down as T20 captain. The Star hitter was eager to continue leading the team. He was relieved of his duties, nevertheless, because BCCI only wanted one captain for the two white ball competitions.
The cricket board was interested in Kohali continuing as the red-ball skipper, according to Ganguly’s most recent disclosure.
“BCCI was not ready for Virat Kohli to step down as Test captain. We weren’t expecting it either following the South Africa visit. The reason Virat Kohli resigned as captain is only known to him. Given that Virat Kohli is no longer the Test captain, there is no purpose in discussing this at this time. An India captain has to be chosen by the selectors. The best choice at the moment was Rohit.
After Kohli resigned as Test captain following India’s 1-2 loss during the country’s tour of South Africa in 2021–2022, Rohit Sharma was named all-format captain.
2 “Winning the IPL is more difficult than winning the World Cup”
During the conversation, Ganguly made a significant claim: “Winning the IPL is more difficult than winning a World Cup.” He said this when defending the choice to name Rohit the new Indian captain in place of Kohli.
The 50-year-old emphasized that franchises must play 17 games to win the IPL, whereas teams only need to play four to five games to advance to the World Cup semifinals.
After Virat left, the selectors required a captain, and Rohit was the finest candidate at that time. He excelled internationally as well, winning the Asia Cup. He had won five IPL trophies. He was the ideal choice. India participated in the Test championship final, however we were unsuccessful.
“I completely trust Rohit. He has shared five IPL championships with MS Dhoni. Because the IPL is a challenging competition, winning it is difficult. Since there are 14 matches before the playoffs, winning the IPL is more tough than winning a World Cup. For a spot in the World Cup semifinals, only 4-5 games are necessary. It takes 17 games in the IPL to win the title, he continued.
Mumbai Indians (MI) won the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 when Rohit was in charge.
3 Hardik Pandya should play Test cricket, according to Sourav Ganguly
In his interview, Ganguly also made a significant declaration regarding his desire to see all-rounder Hardik Pandya play Test cricket once more. Since India’s 2018 tour of England, the latter has not represented his country in white due to ongoing health and fitness difficulties.
Urging Pandya to play Test cricket again, Ganguly remarked:
Hardik Pandya, I hope you’re listening. I would like to watch him play Test cricket, especially in England’s conditions.
Pandya, at 29 years old, made his Test debut in Galle against Sri Lanka in 2017. He has only played in 11 Tests to date, totaling 532 runs at an average of 31.29 with 104 fifty-plus runs.
He has taken 17 wickets at an average of 31.05 with his medium pace, including a five-wicket haul.
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