Arguably one of the best captains for India over the years, Saurav Ganguly has always been a man of peculiar thoughts.
His view of the game is a lot different from many other involved and even after retirement, the Prince of Calcutta has kept us enlightened with his views not only on what is happening on the field but also off it.
In a recent interview with the India Today, Ganguly spoke about the captaincy skills on show in the IPL this season.
Talking about the leadership skills in the Indian Premier League, Ganguly pointed out that Suresh Rain, the skipper of the newly instilled franchise the Gujarat Lions has been superb in his debut season.
However, he went on to pick the Mumbai Indian’s skipper and Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma as the most impressive captain in the current season of the IPL.
“Rohit Sharma has impressed me the most. He has taken the team on his shoulders single-handedly.”
“Suresh Raina also has been impressive but Rohit who is winning the matches with his bat. He has taken more responsibility and thus Mumbai are one of the favorites,” Ganguly said.
The in-form Rohit Sharma has been unplayable this season scoring 383 runs from 9 matches at an average of 63.83 with five scores of more than 50 to his name already.
The Delhi Daredevils have been another franchise that has defied all odds and find themselves well within reach of a qualifying spot and Ganguly felt that it was quite remarkable the way the team has played this season.
He credited the good work of the franchise to two of his former International team-mates Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid.
“You have got to give credit to Zaheer Khan and Rahul Dravid. It takes great courage for a young side to turn it around after being bowled out for 99 in their first game. You have got to give credit to the men who are dealing with the young team,” Ganguly added.
He also reserved some praise for the heartbeat of the country Virat Kohli.
He explained that playing at the top of the order has helped his game and that his team has to do better in the bowling department to get themselves out of the slump in the current season.
“Kohli is a class act. With his ability, he plays up the order. He has done exceptionally well. The bowling has let him down, he added.
Another team that has not been able to live up to the expectations has been the new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants.
Though they have been plagued by injuries to key players, they still have a formidable line-up and Ganguly had some advice for the side.
MS Dhoni, the skipper of the RPS side has not been able to weave his magic on the competition this season and Ganguly felt that the current Indian skipper should try and bat up the order.
“Dhoni under-utilizes his ability in the longer formats of the game. He could actually open in T20 cricket. Once he gets set, he could murder bowling attacks. He has not been giving himself enough time to get set,” Ganguly said to finish his interview.