3 similarities in Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly's India captaincy careers
There has been a lot of suspense over whether Rohit Sharma will lead Team India in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies. The ace batter captained the Men in Blue brilliantly in the 2023 ODI World Cup on home soil. The hosts won 10 straight matches under his leadership before going down to Australia in the final.
Following his stupendous showing as a skipper in the ODI World Cup, several critics reckon that he should lead the side in the upcoming T20 World Cup as well. However, there is plenty of confusion over the same. Rohit hasn’t played a T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide, a match the Men in Blue lost by 10 wickets.
The 36-year-old is not part of the T20Is for the tour of South Africa as well. However, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has backed Rohit to lead India in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
"Once Rohit is back playing all formats, he should be the captain of India, because he has done so well in the [ODI] World Cup," he was quoted as telling PTI.
Having led Team India admirably for many years, Ganguly knows more than a thing or two about India captaincy. In the wake of his recent comments on Rohit, we revisit three similarities in Rohit and Ganguly's India captaincy careers.
#1 Leading from the front in different ways
By nature, Rohit and Ganguly are opposite when it comes to leadership styles. The former is calm and composed, while the latter is in-your-face. However, in diverse manners, both have one thing in common as captain - leading from the front.
Rohit did it brilliantly with the willow in the recently concluded World Cup, taking up the responsibility of getting the team off to quick-fire starts in the powerplay. With his excellent big-hitting, he set the platform for the likes of Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer to consolidate on. While Kohli finished as the leading run-getter in the World Cup, India might have struggled had it not been for Rohit’s selfless approach with the bat.
Ganguly was not as consistent with the bat as Rohit. There were glimpses of brilliance when he also let his bat do the talking during his captaincy stint. His magnificent hundred in Brisbane during the tour of Australia in 2003-04 comes to mind.
With Ganguly, though, it was more a case of leading from the front by showing aggression as captain. He did it successfully during the epic 2001 series against Australia at home. Ganguly’s shirt-waving on the Lord’s balcony after the 2002 Natwest Trophy win is another iconic moment in Indian cricket history.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that, with his daring leadership, Ganguly changed the fortunes of Indian cricket.
#2 Both Rohit and Ganguly took over captaincy amid major controversy in Indian cricket
Another similarity in the captaincy careers of Rohit and Ganguly is that both took over the reins during a tumultuous phase in Indian cricket. There were murmurs that all was not right when Kohli first quit the T20I captaincy and then was sacked as ODI captain and replaced by Rohit. Subsequently, Kohli also quit as Test leader, with Rohit then taking over the reins of all formats.
A few months later then-Chairman of Selectors Chetan Sharma was also forced to quit following a sting operation on him in which he made some shocking allegations. India cricket was going through a very rough phase, but Rohit, along with coach Rahul Dravid, have brought the team out of it in a rather admirable manner.
As for Ganguly, the captaincy was almost thrust on him in the wake of the match-fixing scandal in 2000 that saw the careers of some of the big names of the team coming to an end. Sachin Tendulkar was unwilling to lead the side after having struggled in the role earlier.
Under Ganguly and coach John Wright, Indian cricket saw a new dawn, with the team reaching some great heights.
#3 Both lost an ODI World Cup final to Australia after dominant performances in the competition
Rohit and Ganguly also share one big disappointment in their captaincy career. They were leaders when the team lost an ODI World Cup final to Australia.
The former was in charge recently when the Men in Blue lost to the Aussies by six wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Having cruised to the final unbeaten, Team India yet again failed at the last hurdle.
Under Ganguly during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, India had overcome a nine-wicket hammering by Australia in the league stage to win eight games in a row and cruise into the final. However, they came second best in the summit clash in Johannesburg.
The Aussies posted a mammoth 359/2 batting first and then bundled out India for 234, clinching the final by 125 runs.