England vs India 2018: Sourav Ganguly Wants Virat Kohli to Find Potential Match-Winners

Former legendary skipper, Sourav Ganguly is of the opinion that the current India skipper Virat Kohli must back his players and give them the confidence to become potential match-winners in the future.

Ganguly who was known to be a player’s captain also asked the current skipper to identify the talented players and give them a slightly longer run.

“More than postmortem, it is important to recognize talent here. It is important for every team to move forward. I believe that the kind of batting that the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahane and Rahul have done in this series, they are ten times better cricketers. Kohli needs to bring the best out of his players. It is a big responsibility of a captain to take the players along as you move ahead.

“If the captain puts his arms around a player’s shoulder and says that he wants the player to win him games, the performance will automatically improve. That atmosphere needs to be there. Identification of talent is very important,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India TV.

Sourav Ganguly feels the selectors need to back the potential match-winners

The former captain who led India to several memorable victories in overseas conditions thought the selectors need to support those players who can become potential match-winners for India, especially outside the subcontinent. Ganguly feels there should always be healthy competition in the team for places. However, he thinks there shouldn’t be extreme pressure on the players.

“Selectors must see who are the players who make runs outside the sub-continent. They should give those players an opportunity in India. It shouldn’t be the other way round. All the big stars of Indian cricket have made runs outside the sub-continent. And if you see, a player like KL Rahul has hit centuries in both Australia and England. So, he should be given an opportunity. Yes, there should be pressure, but it shouldn’t be so much that the player breaks down. The selectors have to show this balance,” said.

Sourav Ganguly has always been a great fan of KL Rahul and had time and called him a special talent and perhaps the next big thing in Indian cricket. Even before the start of the series, Ganguly stated Kohli should go and tell Rahul that he will be in the XI for all five Tests.

Despite failing in the first four matches of the series, Rahul finally showed what he is capable of with a stunning knock of 149 in the 2^nd innings of the final Test.

Sourav Ganguly praised KL Rahul for his incredible display on Tuesday

“Rahul batted really well. There was pressure on him, and I am surprised that it took him so long to score runs as he is a quality player. Broad troubled him in this series, but I am happy with his showing because I feel there is a place for him in this team as an opener. You can say that it was a little late in the day, but it can definitely act as a motivation for the youngster.”

There have been speculations it was Shikhar Dhawan’s last Test series at least for now. Ganguly said as an opener it is essential to score runs in the overseas conditions. Ganguly feels as Dhawan hasn’t done well, India must look at a different opener outside the subcontinent.

“Cannot blame any individual as such, but as an opener, it is important to score runs in overseas conditions. If the opener gives you a good start, the ball gets older when the middle-order comes in to bat. Since Dhawan hasn’t done well, India might need to look at another opener outside the sub-continent,” he said.

The former skipper stated the trio of KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant played a fearless brand of cricket on the final day of the Test which was very good to see.

“Sometimes when your back is against the wall, you need to come out and play positively. And that is exactly what Rahul, Pant and Ajinkya Rahane did; they played fearless cricket. This is a good sign, even though you can say that the performance has come very late in the series. But you must applaud the efforts of the trio,” he said.