Former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh, MS Dhoni became as successful because of the work Sourav Ganguly had put in, the Ranchi-born wicket-keeper batsman was, hence, lucky to have Dada leading the Indian team before him.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Maninder spoke about three influential Indian captains – MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly and Kapil Dev. Maninder, who played 35 Tests and 59 ODIs for India, said that the fact that Kapil had won a World Cup in 1983 did help Dhoni’s Team India to believe they can do it in 2011. Dhoni, hence, was lucky to have the likes of Kapil and Ganguly lead the national cricket team before.
“Dhoni was lucky that Kapil Dev won us the World Cup in 1983 then Dhoni was lucky that before him it was Sourav Ganguly, who made us believe that we can beat any team and in any conditions, so Dhoni got that,” said the ex-India spinner.
“When Kapil Dev was the captain that belief was missing. Otherwise, the positivity, the calmness, the captaincy instincts of these two is the same. For me, Kapil and Dhoni are on the same page. If Kapil had somebody else who had won us the world cup before him, then he could also have been a greater captain,” he added.
In awe of Ganguly’s leadership style, Maninder hailed the now Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) boss for giving Indian cricket players like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and many others.
“I loved Ganguly’s captaincy. See what all he has given Indian cricket He was a great judge of talent. He pulled out Yuvraj from the dumps, he got back Harbhajan Singh when he was dropped,” he said.
Maninder also cited the case of Sehwag who was promoted as an opener by Ganguly. While Sehwag doubted himself to do the job at the top, Ganguly gave him unconditional backing, the result of which is known to every cricket fan across the globe.
