Sourav Ganguly is widely regarded as one of the finest India captains who was handed the responsibility to lead the side in the immediate aftermath of the fixing scandal of 2000.
Under Ganguly, the Indian team recorded several memorable wins including the famous 2-1 Test series win against Australia at home.
He was the captain when India reached the final of the 2002 Champions Trophy and were declared the joint winners alongside hosts Sri Lanka as the rain played the spoilsport.
A year later, India reached the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup – the second time they had done so but finished runners-up as Australia defended their title.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif considers Ganguly as the best captain he played for during his career.
Kaif, famously remembered for his match-winning knock in the final of NatWest series in 2002 and for being one of the finest fielders to have played the game, pointed out the qualities that made Ganguly an impactful leader.
“I would say Sourav Ganguly,” Kaif said on DD India when asked about the best captain he played for. “He was amazing, he was fantastic. Captaincy means you need to be a leader, lead from the front, pick the right players, back them. Ganguly built the team after what happened earlier. He took the Indian team forward. He Brought Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh.”
Kaif played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs between 2000 and 2006 scoring over 3000 runs across formats including three centuries and 20 fifties.
