Former India captain Sourav Ganguly in an exclusive interview with RevSportz shared his views on India’s recent series win, Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dominating performance in the test series so far, Dhruv Jurel’s temperament and Ravi Ashwin reaching the milestone of 500 Test wickets.
Interview by Debasis Sen
What is your take on the recent test series win by India against England?
Sourav: That was always on the cards. To beat India in India is very difficult. It is not easy to win in India and England are a young side especially their spin bowling attack. Both Hartley and Bashir hadn’t played any test matches at the start of the series, Rehan played only one test before. India also missed experienced players but the way the youngsters played was excellent. I must say they stood up very well. India like I always say has huge talent.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been a revelation in the series. Your thoughts?
Sourav: He is very good. He is a special talent for all formats. He plays equally well across formats and has got a great career ahead. I really like him.
Another youngster who has been impressive in the series is Dhruv Jurel. How do you see his him?
Sourav: Ranji Trophy and IPL are the two formats for youngsters to become good. Dhruv Jurel is another one. What a test match he had in Ranchi. As I said we have huge talent and if you miss out and go down the ladder it will be very hard to comeback. Someone like Ishan Kishan should be very careful of because he is young and has so much talent.
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“Rishabh Pant’s availability in IPL 2024 will be huge boost for Delhi Capitals”- Sourav Ganguly.@FederalBankLtd @debasissen @BoriaMajumdar #RishabhPant #SouravGanguly #IPL2024 pic.twitter.com/IQ5xYURlWK
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) February 29, 2024
Recently Sunil Gavaskar said that Jurel has the temperament of becoming another Dhoni. Do you agree?
Sourav: MS Dhoni is in a different league. Jurel has talent but you cannot compare him with Dhoni. Let him play. He has the ability to play both spin and pace. Most importantly to perform under pressure and that’s what you look at a youngster and he has got the temperament.
How impressed were you about the captaincy of Rohit Sharma throughout the test series so far?
Sourav: Rohit is a fantastic captain. Look at the way he has led in the World Cup taking India to the final. And I think India was the best team in the competition until they lost the final. He has done well for India and in the IPL. He was made the captain when I was the BCCI President. I am not surprised with the way he led the team. I made him the captain as I saw the talent in him.
What will you say about Ravichandran Ashwin achieving the milestone of 500 test wickets?
Sourav: Ravichandran Ashwin is an all-time great off-spinner. Taking 500 wickets is not a matter of joke and then you also have Jadeja. The best all-rounder at the moment across formats. I think Kuldeep has come of age. He has improved immensely and I think with bowlers like Ashwin and Jadeja, he has not been overwhelmed by them. He has made a mark for himself and I am confident he will go on to play for a long time for India. May I also wish Ashwin who will be playing his 100th Test. It is a testimony to what he stands for.
Do you feel Kuldeep Yadav is under bowled at times?
Sourav: When you have three spinners someone will under bowl at times. And it depends on who is bowling well at that moment. It is about winning test matches and that is what India is doing.
Do you rue the fact that Delhi Capitals released Sarfaraz Khan before the IPL auction?
Sourav: Sarfaraz is more of a five-day player. His game is more suited for that. The amount of runs he scored in domestic cricket is phenomenal. And as they say if you score runs in first class cricket it doesn’t go waste and that’s what happened to Sarfaraz.
How was the meeting with Shah Rukh Khan recently ahead of the WPL opening in Bengaluru?
Sourav: He visited the Chinnaswamy stadium to rehearse for the inaugural ceremony of WPL. He came and met the players of both the teams. It is always nice to meet him. What a personality he is, a real super-star.
Finally, Delhi Capitals ended up being the runner-up in the first season of WPL. Do you see Meg Lanning and her team winning the title this season?
Sourav: Fingers crossed. We have won the last two matches after losing the opening game to Mumbai. I hope we can put up a good performance this season.
Also Read: Ishan has surprised me by not playing Ranji Trophy: Sourav Ganguly