IND vs PAK: "If They Bat Well, They Will Win"- Sourav Ganguly's Suggestion To Team India On Ending Title Drought
Published - 24 Aug 2023, 09:17 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:17 AM
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has come up with a suggestion for Team India to end their ICC title drought. India last won an ICC title under MS Dhoni in 2013 when they won the Champions Trophy.
Since then they have lost two World Cup semi-finals in 2015 and 2019. They also lost the Champions Trophy final in 2017 and the two WTC finals in 2021 and 2023. They next have the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and after that, they will be hosting the World Cup in October-November later this year.
Ganguly spoke about how can India win the next ICC World Cup at home. He said that a team cannot win the World Cup every time adding that India need to bat well to win the World Cup at home.
“You cannot win World Cups all the time, there will be bad times, there will be gaps,” Ganguly said during the launch of Cycle Pure Agarbathi’s new products to mark its 75 years, as quoted by PTI. “They will have to bat very well, if they bat well they will win,” Ganguly, who led India to the 2003 World Cup final, said.
He further said that every tournament differs based on the conditions, the opposition, and magnitude as well as reiterating his point about India’s batting in the process.
“The World Cup is different, Asia Cup is different and the Australia home series is different. Every tournament depends on how they play that particular moment. India are a strong side; but they have to play well during the World Cup,” he said.
He further kept his opinion on a left-arm seamer missing from India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad that was announced on Monday. Arshdeep Singh was the obvious choice but the left-armer was ignored from selection. He played recently in the series against Ireland.
“They picked (players) on form, they picked their best fast bowling side. It’s the best pace attack. I think it’s a very fair side, the right side they have picked. It’s just that they have to play well now.” “Rankings don’t matter, who plays well on that day matters,” said Ganguly.
Pakistan A Very Good Side: Sourav Ganguly
India take on Pakistan on September 2 in their first game of Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan with their potent pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah poses a lot of threat to the Indian batters. They gave a glimpse of their threat by bundling out Afghanistan in the first ODI for just 59.
“They are a very good side. They have a very good bowling attack — Naseem Shah, Shahid Afridi, Haris Rauf. They are a very balanced team. India is a strong side. It’s how you play on that particular day; there is no rocket science to it,” he said.
Looking forward to the riveting World Cup clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad, Ganguly said:
“Both teams are formidable, and the one who executes (plans) better will win the match.” Ganguly then offered his perspective on head coach Rahul Dravid who was appointed to the helm when the former was the BCCI president. “He’s too big a player to be rated. I wish him all the best for the World Cup.”
Read More: IND vs PAK: I Have No Favourites – Sourav Ganguly On India vs Pakistan Game In Asia Cup 2023
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Anshuman Roy is an author at Cricketaddictor. He has been working with the organization since Januar... Read more
