Brian Lara: Sourav Ganguly is my favourite Indian captain

Brian Lara

West Indian legend Brian Lara, who was in Mumbai yesterday, was full of praise for former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly in his recent interview, picking him as his favourite among all the Indian captains he had played against. Lara felt that the southpaw from Kolkata was ‘astonishing’ in the way he led the Indian team against Australia in Australia back in the 2002-03 series.

“Sourav is my favourite. His leadership against Australia in Australia was astonishing. I have great respect for him,” Lara said.

He also praised Kapil Dev and “good friend” Sachin Tendulkar for their leadership qualities.

“In 1983 West Indies were dominating and I thought it would be cake walk for them in the final. So I went out to play only to come and know that India won, which was a surprise and Kapil Dev as a leader had a lot of role to play,” he followed.

“Then there is my friend Sachin Tendulkar, what he has done for cricket, it can’t be repeated. His contribution to Indian cricket and world cricket is immeasurable,” he further added.

On the current Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Lara said, “I spoke to Dwayne Bravo about Dhoni, how he was as a leader while they played together for CSK. He told me one of his key strengths is that he is a great listener. Bravo told me how he sets goals but always looks for ideas and commitment from his players.”