Sourav Ganguly, the former captain of the Indian cricket team, expressed his unwavering opinion over the Shubman Gill-led team's decision to draw the Test series against England without key players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Shortly before the series, Virat and Rohit both declared their retirements from the format. But in the fifth Test match at The Oval, Gill's new-look team showed potential and managed to tie the series with a thrilling victory.
‘Indian cricket stops for no one.’ Ganguly remarked, adding that new people have risen up to fill the hole left by the elite cricket players.
"Indian cricket stops for no one. There is so much talent. Look at the way they all batted. Outstanding. That is how Indian cricket is. When Sunil Gavaskar left, Sachin Tendulkar came. As did Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, and VVS Laxman. When they left, Virat Kohli emerged. And when Kohli left, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Gill stood up. Indian cricket has so much talent that this will only keep on growing. We have a tremendous system, where domestic cricket is so strong. The IPL is such a platform. Then there is the A team, the Under-19 team as well," Ganguly told Sports Tak.
Despite not winning a Test series in England since 2007, Ganguly expressed satisfaction with the team's effort, highlighting the majority of batters' steady play.
"India played brilliantly in England. In the second innings of the Manchester Test, they were 0/2, and from there to have leveled the series at the Oval is indicative of a very strong performance. It's a young team; congratulations to Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir. They went to England with this team only to see everyone perform so brilliantly.
I don't think that after 2002 or 2007, India's top six batters have consistently delivered such an outstanding performance in England. Be it KL Rahul, Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, or Washington Sundar. They have batted so consistently throughout five tests, which was heartwarming to see," the former India captain added.
India managed a 2-2 draw against England with wins at Edgbaston and the Oval and fought hard for a draw in Manchester.
