Zaheer Khan, one of India’s most successful fast bowlers, made his debut under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly in the year 2000. While he was Ganguly’s go-to-man with the new ball, the left-arm seamer was instrumental in helping an MS Dhoni-led side lift the 2011 World Cup.
In his very first international outing, Khan stamped his authority, claiming three wickets against a formidable Kenya unit. He went on to pick over 600 international wickets in a career that spanned over 13 years. Recently, Zaheer drew parallels between both the captains and observed how the two have groomed the youngsters during their respective stints as leader of the side.
Zaheer Khan on Sourav Ganguly’s support to the youngsters
“That’s (backing from Ganguly) what you need at that stage of your career. When you start at the international level, you need all the support. Then it is up to you as to how you shape up your career. But that initial support is extremely vital,” he said during a chat show with Gaurav Kapoor on Youtube.
Zaher Khan on MS Dhoni’s reign as skipper of the Indian team
Zaheer scalped 221 wickets during Dhoni’s reign as the captain of the Indian team. He lauded the manner in which Dhoni led the side through the transition phase in Indian cricket. “When MS got the team, there were a lot of experienced players in the side, so he did not have to do too much to get them up to speed. However, once they started retiring, he then had to nurture the young match. He had spent a similar kind of role and done similar things to what Dada (Ganguly) did with the young crop. This is the quality of the leader to take the team forward,” Zaheer added.
Apart from Zaheer, the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra blossomed under Ganguly’s authority. In the same way, Dhoni backed his players to the hilt as the skipper of the side. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and many other notable names started off their international career under Dhoni’s captaincy and they have achieved a fair bit of success to say the least.