 | « Back to article | Print this article |
'India have five Shubman Gills from one, two, three, four, five, six -- who can all score hundreds and win matches.'
Former captain Sourav Ganguly said K L Rahul's 'fantastic numbers' in ODIs might have tilted the scale in favour of him ahead of Rishabh Pant as India's first-choice wicketkeeper batter in the ICC Champions Trophy.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir had marked Rahul to don the big gloves in the ICC marquee event as Pant remained on the benches.
"India are such a strong side, especially in batting. Pant is very good. But Rahul has fantastic numbers in ODIs. So, I think that's the reason Gautam Gambhir has backed Rahul," Ganguly said in Kolkata on Friday.
"There's very little to choose between them (Rahul and Pant) because both are exceptional," he added.
The former BCCI chief also backed Virat Kohli to overcome his leg-spin woes, while tipping India as favourites to win the Champions Trophy title.
"India have five Shubman Gills from one, two, three, four, five, six -- who can all score hundreds and win matches. When Axar Patel bats at five for India, can you imagine the depth?
"Yesterday, India was in a spot of bother, but then they had K L Rahul coming in. They had Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya... There's batting after batting.
"India have a house of talent because of the systems we have and the way we play our cricket."
Ganguly also pitched in for handing ODI debut to explosive opener Abhishek Sharma sooner than later.
"The way Abhishek Sharma batted in the T20I series (against England) was unbelievable for a left-hander. There is no reason why he can't play one-day cricket. A player like Abhishek Sharma would be in any cricket team in the world," he added.
Having secured a facile six-wicket win over Bangladesh to open their CT campaign, India would be next in action against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
"India is a very powerful white-ball side. The recent record against Pakistan shows that India have dominated them for a long time now.
"In the last 25 years, as far as I can remember, India must have lost only once to Pakistan in a world tournament -- whether it's the Champions Trophy, World Cup, or T20 World Cup.
"India are not just favourites against Pakistan but for me, they are favourites for this tournament.
"It won't be easy for Pakistan. The spinners will also play a crucial part. I think India will go with the same (bowling) combination (Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya as seamers, while Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav taking care of the spin department).
"On the wicket in Dubai, they will need spinners. I presume this Dubai pitch will turn a bit, and Pakistan doesn't play spin very well. India has quality spinners."
On his comeback trail, Mohammed Shami showcased his prowess in a world tournament, starting off with a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh.
Ganguly said the Bengal pacer who was India's top wicket-taker (24) in ODI World Cup 2023, is not far behind Jasprit Bumrah in terms of skill sets.
"I had said that Bumrah needs Shami, and Shami needs Bumrah. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not fit for this tournament. Shami is, and I'm not surprised by his five wickets against Bangladesh.
"He will continue to lead the attack throughout the tournament. Obviously, Bumrah is the best bowler in the world at the moment, but Shami is not too far behind.
"The only thing is, he just needs to stay fit throughout the tournament and shoulder the responsibility."
Kohli once again fell to a leg-spinner, for 22, failing to capitalise on his start, but Ganguly was confident that the star batter will overcome this challenge.
"The quality of cricketer Virat Kohli is -- I'm sure he will be able to sort this out. He has got 81 international hundreds, and I'm sure he scored runs against leg-spin also. So, it was probably just one of those days when he got out. He has to find a way to play it."
While India and New Zealand are Ganguly's picks from Group A, he said Australia could miss out on the semi-finals due to the absence of key players.
"New Zealand have beaten Pakistan. So, New Zealand is ahead. If India beat Pakistan, then Pakistan will probably be out of the competition. So, I see India and New Zealand progressing from this group."
"From the other group, I'm a little worried about Australia because there's no (Pat) Cummins, no Mitchell Starc, and no Josh Hazlewood. Their three best fast bowlers are missing.
"Between South Africa, England, and Australia -- any two can qualify. You never count Australia out because of their pedigree and the quality of cricket they play. But I won't be surprised if England and South Africa make it."
The 52-year-old, who has a career best 239 in Tests against Pakistan, also remembered his on-field fights against the neighbours.
"I've played an entire lifetime of India-Pakistan cricket, starting from the Independence Cup final in 1996. My first series as captain to Pakistan in 2004, where India won the Tests and ODIs for the first time in history. So, I have lots of great memories of playing against Pakistan.
"I've seen Javed Miandad's last-ball six (off Chetan Sharma in an ODI in Sharjah), and I've also seen the transformation of India after that -- how we started dominating Pakistan in every format.
"I say that with respect. India have been a far, far superior team. Looking at this Indian team, it's also far, far superior in the last 20 years," he said.