Wasim Jaffer Credits Former Indian Captain For Rebuilding The Team And Backing Players Relentlessly

Retired Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has heaped praises on a former Indian captain. While Wasim Jaffer was a domestic behemoth, he could not quite click on the international circuit. The Mumbai opening batsman made his international debut in 2000 but went on to play only 31 Tests, the last of which came in 2008. It was Sourav Ganguly, who impressed Wasim Jaffer and five of his 31 Tests came under the current BCCI President.

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Sourav Ganguly’s name has become synonymous with triggering Indian cricket’s resurgence. Even now as he serves as the BCCI President, the nation places its trust on the former skipper to take Indian cricket to new heights. The Prince of Kolkata took over the captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar when under him, India was struggling to make things work.

The 45-year-old turned their fortunes around gradually, recording series win against a mighty Australia at home in 2001, guiding to the finals of the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy and 2003 World Cup. He also led the Men in Blue to the 2002 Champions Trophy, which they lifted alongside Sri Lanka. The Indian team also began performing well overseas under Ganguly.

Wasim Jaffer told in an interview with Crictracker that Sourav Ganguly constructed the team from scratch after 2000, possessed the temperament, and gave an extended rope to the players.

“Sourav Ganguly was the one who made the team after 2000. He had the temperament, backed the players, and gave them a longer rope,” Jaffer said.

Ganguly supported Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Zaheer Khan: Wasim Jaffer

The domestic veteran further said that players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Zaheer Khan owe their glorious careers to “Dada”, who relentlessly backed them. The four players formed the nucleus of the early 2000s side of the Indian team that made them very competitive.

“He made Sehwag open the batting and brought players like Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh,” the 42-year-old added.

Sourav captained India in 176 ODIs, winning 76 out of those while sustaining 65 losses. Having led India to 21 wins in 49 Tests, Ganguly is also one of the most successful Indian Test skippers.

As far as runs go, the southpaw amassed 7212 runs in 113 Tests and 11363 in 311 ODIs and formed a formidable opening partnership with Sachin Tendulkar in 50-over cricket. He retired from internationals in 2008.

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