Kolkata: Former captain Sourav Ganguly has said he does not want to give any advice to Rohit Sharma ahead of the crucial T20 World Cup final against South Africa and is extending his good wishes.
He lauded team's planning and hoped India finishes on the right side tomorrow.
Ganguly captained India in the ICC tournaments in 2000, 2002, and 2003. In the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, the Indian team emerged victorious. But in the remaining two, the Ganguly-led side fell short and ended up losing.
"I don't want to advise him. I captained India in three tournaments, and I lost two. In one, I was the joint winner so I don't want to advise him anything and just wish him the best of luck," Ganguly said during an event in Kolkata.
India came close on a couple of occasions to ending their hiatus of lifting an ICC World Cup trophy. After their success in 2011, India came lost the 2014 T20 World Cup final. In 2016, the West Indies thumped them in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. In 2023, Australia toppled India to lift their record-extending sixth ODI World Cup trophy.
India have a chance to finally end the wait to get their hands on the coveted prize if they defeat South Africa in the final of the tournament in Barbados on Saturday.
The Indian team has been criticised by some sections of fans for their failure to end the drought.
Ganguly offered a different perspective on India's run in the ICC tournaments and feels that the team has dominated the competitions and managed to get into the final in several editions.
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"I look at it differently; at least you are getting to the finals. You can only win once you get to the finals. The positive thing is that India is not getting eliminated. The second positive thing is that they are dominating. You saw in the World Cup seven months ago, they were the best side. Although they lost to Australia in the final, they were a better side than Australia throughout the tournament. It was just one bad day. Tomorrow, they go into the final unbeaten," the former Indian skipper added.
Ganguly went on to praise the way Rohit has batted. In the past two games, Rohit has shown his 'Hitman' form against cricket behemoths Australia and England.
Against the Baggy Greens, he struck a quick-fire 92 off just 41 deliveries, which laid the foundation for India's success in Super 8.
He once again turned up the heat against defending champions, England, with a brisk 57 off 39 deliveries. His knock set the tone in India's favour and played a crucial part in ending England's title defence.
"They have been the best side in the competition. I hope they have a little bit of luck tomorrow because that is required in winning big tournaments. Rohit has a record of winning five IPLs, which is a huge effort. The honour of winning the World Cup is more, and I hope Rohit does it. From the beginning, I said they should play with freedom, and he (Rohit) has done it himself in the tournament. He has led from the front, batted brilliantly and captained brilliantly," Ganguly said.
One of the key reasons behind India's success in the second half of the tournament has been spinners. India picked up a spin-laden squad, including Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
Kuldeep was introduced to the playing XI in the Super 8 in place of Mohammed Siraj. In four matches, the 'Chinaman' spinner has ten wickets belt at an average of 13.54 and an economy of 6.20.
"The wicket has helped spinners in the West Indies, that is why teams have played with more spinners. India prepared that way. They brought four spinners so they knew that the wicket would turn. They are all world-class spinners. I am happy Axar and Kuldeep are doing so well together. I hope India finishes on the right side tomorrow," Ganguly stated.
With South Africa also not having dropped a match, the T20 World Cup final will be a clash between the two unbeaten sides of the tournament.
—ANI