Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel has chosen former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly above renowned MS Dhoni as his favourite captain during his playing days. Under Ganguly’s leadership, the left-handed wicket-keeper batter made his debut at the age of 17.
Between 2002 and 2004, Parthiv played 15 Tests and 10 One-Day Internationals under Ganguly’s captaincy. When Parthiv made his Test debut for India in 2002, he became the country’s youngest wicket-keeper to play for the country in red-ball cricket. With the rise of MS Dhoni as a wicketkeeper-batsman, Parthiv Patel’s chances of playing for the country were reduced.
Speaking at the 6th Advancement In Endourology Conference At the Forum Convention Centre, Parthiv Patel chose Sourav Ganguly as his favourite captain of the Indian team, saying that the Bengal-born skipper has backed the players in the squad, giving them a longer run with the team.
“Today I would still choose Sourav Ganguly as my captain for sure. We’ve had a lot of successful captains Dhoni, Virat Kohli, everyone. But I would still choose Sourav. I think he had time for everyone though. Everyone else has been great captains as well. But I would still choose him,” Parthiv Patel said.
Sourav Ganguly changed attitude of the Indian cricket. He underlined the importance of being aggressive and leading by example in this regard. His ability to get under his opponents’ skin spread like wildfire among his colleagues, and they were no longer a hesitant side looking to engage.
The players grew to believe in themselves and developed a never-say-die attitude under his leadership. India began to win overseas tests and ODIs under his captaincy.
I Would Say Virat Kohli’s Rather Slightly More Aggressive – Parthiv Patel
Speaking about Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel feels that both the Delhi-born batters are polite and feels that they bring in the aggression to win the games on the field and added that the former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain’s style is somewhat more aggressive.
“On the ground and off the ground. Virat is very polite. Gautam is also very polite. I mean, when you are playing cricket, when you want to win games for your country, there’s obviously some kind of aggression that comes in. But we all love Virat Kohli. The way he celebrates and stuff. He inspires a lot of them. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Gautam but I would say Virat’s rather slightly more aggressive,” Parthiv Patel added.
Virat Kohli is known for his aggression, as well as his batting and captaincy. During their most recent IPL 2023 match, Kohli clashed with Lucknow Super Giants player Naveen-ul-Haq and the team’s coach Gautam Gambhir for their actions during the game.
