Mohammad Kaif, former India cricketer, has named Sourav Ganguly as the best captain he played under. He credited the former BCCI President for taking the Indian team forward during his tenure as the skipper and backing his players, who went on to do great things for the team.
Ganguly was made captain of the Indian team in 2000 right after the match-fixing scandal aftermath and went on to lead the team for five years. During that time, India defeated Australia in a Test series at home, reached the final of the 2000 Champions Trophy, and jointly won the tournament in 2002.
India also achieved the famous tri-series win in 2002 in England, while reaching the finals of the 2003 World Cup. India also drew a Test series in Australia in 2003-04, while winning a Test and ODI series in Pakistan the same year.
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Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif considers Ganguly the best captain he played for during his career. He also lauded the former captain for backing youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, and Harbhajan Singh who went on to became greats of the game.
“I would say, Sourav Ganguly. He was amazing, he was fantastic. Captaincy means you need to be a leader, lead from the front, pick the right players, and 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 said on DD India.
Kaif played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs between 2000 and 2006 scoring over 3000 runs across formats including three centuries and 20 fifties.
“I remember he told me that I should go out there and give my best shot and that he is there to back me, he is there to support me. That’s a big comment. As a young guy, if you have a captain like Sourav Ganguly, you feel the pride to play for India. No doubt that he took the Indian team forward," Kaif said.
Ganguly celebrated his 51st birthday on July 8th.
