NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes KL Rahul‘s “fantastic numbers” in ODIs may have given him the edge over Rishabh Pant as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir backed Rahul to take on the wicketkeeping duties for the marquee ICC event, leaving Pant on the sidelines.
“India are such a strong side, especially in batting. Pant is very good. But Rahul has fantastic numbers in ODIs. So, I think that’s the reason Gautam Gambhir has backed Rahul,” Ganguly said after he was announced as the brand ambassador of Vura, a construction chemical brand.
“There’s very little to choose between them (Rahul and Pant) because both are exceptional,” he added.
The former BCCI chief also backed Virat Kohli to overcome his leg-spin woes, while tipping India as favourites to bag the Champions Trophy title.
“India have five Shubman Gills from one, two, three, four, five, six — who can all score hundreds and win matches. When Axar Patel bats at five for India, can you imagine the depth?
“Yesterday, India was in a spot of bother, but then they had KL Rahul coming in. They had Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya… There’s batting after batting.
“India have a house of talent because of the systems we have and the way we play our cricket.”
POSITIVE ON KOHLI
Kohli once again fell to a leg-spinner but Ganguly was confident that the star batter will overcome this challenge.
“The quality of cricketer Virat Kohli is —I’m sure he will be able to sort this out. He has got 81 international hundreds, and I’m sure he scored runs against leg-spin also. So, it was probably just one of those days when he got out. He has to find a way to play it.”
While India and New Zealand are Ganguly’s picks from Group A, he said Australia could miss out on the semifinals due to the absence of key players.
“New Zealand have beaten Pakistan. So, New Zealand is ahead. If India beat Pakistan, then Pakistan will probably be out of the competition. So, I see India and New Zealand progressing from this group.”
“From the other group, I’m a little worried about Australia because there’s no (Pat) Cummins, no Mitchell Starc, and no Josh Hazlewood. Their three best fast bowlers are missing.
“Between South Africa, England, and Australia — any two can qualify. You never count Australia out because of their pedigree and the quality of cricket they play. But I won’t be surprised if England and South Africa make it.”
The 52-year-old, who has a career best 239 in Tests against Pakistan, also remembered his on-field fights against the neighbours.
“I’ve played an entire lifetime of India-Pakistan cricket, starting from the Independence Cup final in 1996. My first series as captain to
Pakistan in 2004, where India won the Tests and ODIs for the first time in history. So, I have lots of great memories of playing against Pakistan.
“I’ve seen Javed Miandad’s six sixes, and I’ve also seen the transformation of India after that — how we started dominating Pakistan in every format.
“I say that with respect. India have been a far, far superior team. Looking at this Indian team, it’s also far, far superior in the last 20 years,” he said.