Shoaib Akhtar Lauds Sourav Ganguly As The Bravest Batsman He Bowled To
Published - 13 Jun 2020, 05:54 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:30 AM
Sourav Ganguly has to be one of the greatest batsmen India ever produced and not only one of the best captains. Fans do remember him for triggering a rise of the Indian team from one of the hardest phases, transforming them into a competitive side. But Sourav Ganguly’s ability as a batsman deserves equal recognition, which former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has described.
Known as the “God of Off-side”, Ganguly’s fluent strokes over the off-side can make fans go to dreamland. The current BCCI President scored 7212 Test runs and 11363 runs in ODIs and was amongst the elite in the Indian batting crew. Despite facing problems with the short-delivery, Shoaib Akhtar believes that the Prince of Kolkata was the bravest batsman he was up against.
In an interview with Helo App, the Rawalpindi Express shrugged off all the rumours that say Sourav Ganguly was afraid of Akhtar steaming in. On the contrary, Akhtar singled out the former Indian captain was the most courageous batsman and the one who could face him with the brand new ball.
“People used to say that he was scared to face fast bowling, he was afraid to face me. I think all of that was rubbish. Sourav Ganguly was the bravest batsman, the only opener who could face me with the new ball. He knew, he didn’t have the shots, I also targeted him by bowling at his chest but he never backed away, and still scored runs that are what I call bravery.” Akhtar stated as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Shoaib Akhtar labels Sourav Ganguly as the best captain he played against:
The 44-year old went on to term the left-handed batsman was the greatest captain he ever faced. He didn’t shy away from appreciating MS Dhoni; however, when it was about building a team, none could surpass Ganguly. In retrospect, the speedster has played under the Prince of Kolkata for the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
“If I talk about India, then it will be Sourav Ganguly. India haven’t produced a better captain than him. Dhoni is very good, he’s a superb captain but when you talk about team building then Ganguly did a great job.” he added.
