The highly anticipated championship match between India and South Africa will take place in Bridgetown, Barbados.The Indian team is determined to secure their first international trophy since their triumphant campaign in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
“I’m 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,” Ganguly said, as quoted by PTI, after being roped in as the brand ambassador of Veedol.
The former BCCI president Ganguly disclosed that Rohit was hesitant to assume the captaincy responsibilities following Virat Kohli’s decision to step down from the leadership role.
“He has played two World Cup finals where he has gone into the final unbeaten. 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.
“It took a lot of time to make him captain because he was not ready to 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.”
Ganguly expressed that securing victories in the Indian Premier League (IPL) can occasionally be a more demanding task due to the extended length of the competition.
“Rohit has the 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.
“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 honour is more in winning the World Cup, and I hope Rohit does it tomorrow.”
“I don’t think he can lose two World Cup finals in seven (six) months. He will probably jump into the Barbados ocean if he loses two finals under his captaincy in seven months. He has led from the front, batted brilliantly, and I hope it continues tomorrow. Hope India finishes on the right side, and they should play with freedom.
“They have been the best side of the competition. I wish them luck, I wish they win. Hope they have a little bit of luck tomorrow because that is required to win big tournaments,” Ganguly added.
India’s journey since their triumphant Champions Trophy campaign has been marked by a series of near misses in major tournaments. They fought their way to the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup, showcasing their prowess in the shortest format of the game. However, they fell short at the final hurdle, unable to clinch the coveted title.
“I look at it differently. At least we are getting to the finals, we can only win once we get to the final,” he said.
“The positive thing is India is not getting eliminated. Secondly, they are dominating. 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.
“They were a better side than Australia right through the tournament; they just had one bad day,” he pointed out.
Ganguly expressed his views on South Africa’s historic achievement of reaching the World Cup final for the first time since their reintegration into international cricket in 1991.
“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,” he said.
Kohli has been experiencing a relatively average performance in the current World Cup while opening the batting order. However, Ganguly believes that Kohli should maintain his position and not shift to the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
“Virat should continue to open. He just had a World Cup of 700 runs seven months ago. He is human. Sometimes, he will also fail, and you have to accept it.
“People like Kohli, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid, they are institutions for Indian cricket. Three-four matches don’t make them weaker players. Don’t rule him out in the final tomorrow,” added Ganguly.
India a dominant force by its performance
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed disapproval of the ICC. He alleges that the governing body has given India an advantage by selecting a venue for the World Cup semifinal in Guyana that is conducive to spin bowling.
Furthermore, Vaughan has leveled accusations against broadcasters, claiming that they have consistently allocated India the desirable 8pm IST time slot for all of their matches in the tournament.
Dismissing such claims, Ganguly said: “Michael Vaughan is a very dear friend of mine. 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. You still have to play in the middle and win.”
“Secondly, I don’t know why Guyana is thought to be a venue for winning when they have gone around and won everywhere.”
Ganguly emphasized his stance, asserting that India’s unwavering performance in matches has established them as a formidable power in the sport.
“Yes, India are a dominant force in world cricket, by its performance, by its broadcast, and by the money it brings to the table.
“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 are the same,” he said.
