Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly had shown faith in a lot of future stars in their initial phase of career. One of them is Yuvraj Singh who went on to play a huge role in India's two World Cup wins. 

Yuvraj made his debut under the captaincy of Ganguly and got a good opportunity before shaping up as a star cricketer. He was the player of the tournament in World Cup 2011 with 362 runs and 15 wickets. 

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan recalled how Ganguly used to back the right players. “Sourav Ganguly wanted to make sure that he built the team. I remember Yuvraj Singh was struggling at the start of his career for quite a few matches. Ganguly backed him,” Pathan told cricket.com.

“He knew that if I back this guy, some amazing things can happen in the future, and certainly it did happen,” he further said. 

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Ganguly’s call proved to be true as Yuvraj led the Indian team to some of the most memorable wins throughout his career.

Pathan continued praising the ex-India captain and credited him for the building team after match-fixing saga in Indian cricket.

“Not only Yuvraj, but Ganguly also backed youngsters like Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. He built the team when the India team was in a slump. People did not love cricket because it was a tough time for cricket in India. Making people love the Indian cricket team again, the credit should be given to Sourav Ganguly.

“That is why if we talk about the leader, he was the leader of the players. Ganguly had only one agenda. To make sure the Indian team grows. Nothing else,” Pathan signed off.