Sourav Ganguly offers words of caution to Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble
Sourav Ganguly, one of India’s most successful captains and cricketers of all-time in her glorious cricketing past is no stranger to the pressures that come with holding the post of captaincy in India. Despite ushering in one of the most successful periods in Indian cricket, he was ushered out of the door due to a misunderstanding with the coach before making a comeback.
Ganguly was heralded for two major things as captain of the Indian team. His insistence on youth and thus bringing about a change in the mentality of the setup, and also, dealing with India’s fear of playing in foreign conditions. In 49 Test matches as captain, he led the team to 21 wins against 13 losses.
Virat Kohli took over as captain of the Test team after MS Dhoni’s premature retirement towards the end of 2014, and, after India’s win against England in the second Test of the ongoing series with England at Vizag, he has an astonishing 11 wins under his kitty.
In fact, the team are currently on a 15-match unbeaten streak and with India scheduled to play a number of Tests at come in the coming months, Kohli’s India might hold the longest ever unbeaten streak.
However, Ganguly believes the Delhi-lad shouldn’t get carried away. Speaking to India Today, he said, “Kohli has set a very good record for him but he has played a lot of his Tests at home. It helps when you play at home. But credit to him."
Ganguly was quick to point out the fact that Kohli has not really been tested away from home. He also spoke about captaincy can feel like a burden after a couple of seasons at the top. "Captaincy is such a thing that gets heavier on you as time goes. The initial days are pretty good. The real test for Virat Kohli as captain will come when India start playing overseas. It has been easy going for him so far." he added.
Ganguly is one of the most important cricket administrators in the country today and played a key role in selecting Anil Kumble as the coach of the Indian team. Speaking about Kumble, he said he would reserve his judgments over his former teammate as a coach after Kumble is tested abroad.
He concluded reminding India that while England lost the first Test, they must not be taken lightly and are more than capable of turning it around.