Kolkata: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly is known to be speaking his mind rather than beating around the bush. And the Maharaja of the Indian cricket was no different when he interacted with people at a real estate company event here on Wednesday evening.
Asked about the Indian cricket captains in different eras, Ganguly didn’t want to compare skippers. "I don't compare between captains. Everyone has a different style of leadership. We have entrusted leadership to someone. That doesn’t mean he will lead the way we want. I don’t think so. When someone is given a responsibility, he has to be given time. Then we can expect a result," the former Indian southpaw said.
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Almost simultaneously, he praised the current captain of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma. "India has produced some great captains over the years. MS Dhoni who handled the transition fantastically, and continued to bring accolades not just for India but for his franchise (Chennai Super Kings). Then came Virat Kohli who also has a fantastic record. He was a different sort of captain and he did things differently.
"Now Rohit Sharma who’s obviously a bit laid-back who takes things in a very calm and cautious way and not someone who’s into your face all the time. Every individual is different but what matters is the result and how many wins and losses you have. I don't compare captains, everybody has his way of leadership," he added.
Coming to the topic of his own captaincy back in his heydays (2000-2005), he evaluated himself too as a captain. He didn’t want to blame himself or any player in the team that lost the World Cup final in 2003 under his leadership. "I don’t think in retrospect. I was disappointed that I lost the final but I don’t think toss was the reason to lose the final. we did not play well," Dada said.
"I captained India in more than 200 games, and I had to take decisions at 9.30 am every time. I must have won about 120, maybe slightly more. So, majority of the decisions were right," he elaborated. However, Ganguly refrained from making a comment on the state of affairs in Indian football, particularly after the world football governing body FIFA suspended AIFF only on Wednesday.
