Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has named his all time great Indian ODI and test team. Unlike Kapil Dev who did not include himself in his all-time best Indian ODI team, Ganguly didn’t hesitate to name himself in both the ODI and Test teams he picked.
Ganguly named himself as Sachin Tendulkar’s opening partner in the 50-over format of the game. In Tests, he named Gundappa Viswanath as an alternative to his spot.
Ganguly also picked Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble as the only two spinners in the Test squad. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been named as the 12th man of the ODI and Test side respectively.
Test cricket is considered the true benchmark of a player and Dravid’s position at No. 3 speaks for the fact that Ganguly has always believed in specialists.
Considering this aspect, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is in both the ODI and Test teams. It effectively means, Ganguly has rated Dhoni above a Syed Kirmani, who most believe has been India’s technically best.
Ganguly has always been credited for mentoring the careers of Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan. It is no surprise then that he has picked India’s 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj in his ODI squad. Zaheer figures in both squads, alongside Javagal Srinath.
Just like Kapil Dev, Ganguly also picked Ravindra Jadeja in his ODI XI. The other youngster to figure in Ganguly’s ODI team is Virat Kohli. The Delhi star’s growing stature in international cricket is being noticed by the game’s pundits and hasn’t escaped Ganguly’s attention.
“He is superbly skilled and has enormous potential. He has learnt from his mistakes and is a different cricketer now,” Ganguly had said.
But interestingly, there is no place for Bedi, Chandrasekhar or Prasanna. Probably, Ganguly doesn’t believe in the concept of “buying” wickets but Chandrasekhar’s absence from at least the ODI team seems debatable.
Sourav Ganguly’s Teams -
Test: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly/GR Viswanath, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan. 12th man: VVS Laxman.
ODI: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Ravindra Jadeja, Anil Kumble/Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan.
The post Ganguly picks himself in his all-time ODI and Test India XI appeared first on Cricket Highlights - Crichotline