Sourav Ganguly was extremely pleased with the Indian team’s achievement in the span of two years (WTC cycle from 2019-2021) and lauded the chief contributors of their run-up to the WTC final although India could not be crowned the World Champions of Test cricket as they lost the final to New Zealand by 8 wickets.
India may have missed the opportunity to be crowned the winner of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, but that does not take anything away from the insurmountable amount of effort and hard work the team had put together to reach the final.
Sourav Ganguly: Everyone Contributed To WTC Journey
A journey that began right after India’s exit from the 2019 World Cup semi-final, culminated in them reaching the final of the first-ever inaugural WTC, with the team playing some incredible cricket in Australia and against England earlier this year.
Former captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly was extremely pleased with what the team has achieved in the WTC cycle and was full of praise for the chief contributors of their run-up to the WTC final.
“Everyone has contributed to this WTC journey. Ajinkya Rahane has been the highest scorer for India in the WTC. Don’t forget Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. For Ishant, a fast bowler, to have played 100 Tests, is not a mean achievement. After Kapil Dev, he is the only Indian pace bowler to have done so. There have been worthy contributions from Rohit Sharma, Rahane, and skipper Virat Kohli. Ravichandran Ashwin has performed with the ball right through,” Sourav Ganguly told The Week Magazine in an interview.
Ajinkya Rahane was one of six batsmen to have registered more than 1000 runs in the current WTC cycle(1095 runs). Rohit Sharma (1030) was the other Indian batsman to be in the top six. Ravichandran Ashwin(67 scalps) was also one of five bowlers in the world to have taken more than 50 wickets in the current WTC cycle.
Rishabh Pant (69.17) and Rohit Sharma (SR 64.49) had been the most aggressive batsmen with more than 300 runs across all teams in the WTC cycle. Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa was the highest score.
Sourav Ganguly: In The Next WTC Cycle, There Will Be Some Tweaks
After the success of the inaugural WTC cycle, it is imminent that the second tournament is on the cards, and while Sourav Ganguly seemed excited by the prospect of it, he mentioned that there may be a few tweaks given how the Covid situation unfolds in cricket-playing nations.
“Both India and New Zealand have played well, and that is why they are in the final. As for the qualification criteria, it was based on the percentage of wins. Hopefully, in the next WTC cycle, there will be some tweaks. Last year, due to Covid-19, lots of matches and series were canceled. Hopefully, the next cycle will take all this into account,” Ganguly added.
The schedule for the next World Test Championship cycle was announced as India’s ICC World Test Championship’s 2nd edition from 2021-2023 will begin with the 5-match Test series against England and end with the tour of Bangladesh.
India’s second assignment in the Test Championship (2021-23) will be against defending champions New Zealand at home. Their third assignment will be when they lock horns with South Africa in December-January in the Rainbow nation before hosting Sri Lanka in a 3-match Test series.
After a lengthy break from the longest format of the game, the team will then battle it out against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will take place in the second half of 2022. The team’s second WTC campaign will conclude with a 2-match Test series against Bangladesh.