The former India captain Sourav Ganguly has praised the current national team captain Rohit Sharma, for helping the side progress to the final of the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America. They will have the chance to end their 11-year wait for an ICC trophy once they face South Africa in Barbados on June 29.
It was the Champions Trophy 2013, under MS Dhoni, when India won an ICC tournament one last time, and since then there have been disappointments as they have reached multiple knockout stages, but couldn’t get over the line.
‘I am very happy for Rohit Sharma. Life comes full circle. Six months ago he was not even the captain of Mumbai Indians and the same man is now leading India to a World Cup final, unbeaten.’ Sourav Ganguly expressed during an interview as the brand ambassador of Veedol.
‘Hope India finishes on the right side’- Sourav Ganguly
The former president of the BCCI, Ganguly spoke about the time when he tried his best to convince Rohit to take up captaincy once Virat Kohli left the position at the end of 2021.
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‘He has played two World Cup finals where he has gone into the final unbeaten.’ Sourav Ganguly sheds light. ‘That speaks of his captaincy and leadership quality and I’m not surprised because he became captain when I was the BCCI president and when Virat didn’t want to captain India anymore.’
Under Rohit, India made their way into the semifinal of the last T20 World Cup in 2022, where they were humiliated by England for a 10-wicket defeat, and the same went in the 2023 ODI World Cup final where they lost to Australia.
‘It took a lot of time to make him captain because he was not ready to be captain. It took a lot of pushing from all of us to make him captain and I’m very happy to see the progress of Indian cricket under him.’ The 51-year-old remarked.
What puts Rohit above among so many captains in the chart is how calm he remains under pressure, and there is no doubt about his skill, having won five IPL titles with the Mumbai Indians.
Rohit has a record of winning five IPL titles, which is a huge achievement. Winning an IPL sometimes is more difficult. Don’t misquote me, I’m not saying IPL is better than international cricket.’ Sourav Ganguly quoted in the chat. ‘But you have to win 16-17 (12-13) matches to win an IPL; here you need to win 8-9 matches to win a World Cup. The honor is more in winning the World Cup, and I hope Rohit does it tomorrow.’
Even though India hasn’t won any ICC Trophies in the last decade, they have been quite consistent in reaching the knockout position, and the former left-handed batter feels it’s too a huge achievement to have under the belt.
‘I look at it differently. At least we are getting to the finals, we can only win once we get to the final. The positive thing is India is not getting eliminated. Secondly, they are dominating.’ Sourav Ganguly pointed out. ‘You saw the World Cup in India seven months ago; they were the best side in the competition, although they lost to Australia in the final.’
The Kolkata-born also speaks about how big a moment it would be for South Africa too, who made their World Cup final, 32 years later making their comeback in International cricket.
‘It’s a huge moment for South African cricket. Imagine a team that came back to international cricket in 1992, and it took them 32 years to play in a World Cup final. So, it’s going to be a big day for both teams.’ Sourav Ganguly added.
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The veteran doesn’t see India getting an extra advantage even after them knowing their venue for the semifinal, and having played all of the games in this competition in the morning, which has allowed their spinners to come in the game more than the other teams.
‘I don’t know how ICC helps India win cricket matches by keeping the broadcast at 8 pm IST in the evening. I don’t know how broadcasting wins you cricket matches.’ Sourav Ganguly concluded. ‘You still have to play in the middle and win. You know if you own 80 percent of a company’s shares, you will get more dividends and profits than others. It’s the rule of life. India is the same.’
India will take on the Proteas on June 29, in the final, at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados.