Never imagined India could beat Pakistan until Sourav Ganguly became skipper: Shoaib Akhtar

Karachi: Shoaib Akhtar has praised the leadership qualities of the former Indian Cricket team captain and present BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. Akhtar said Ganguly was not only a tough opposition for him but having played under his leadership at Kolkata Knight Riders at IPL, Dada was indeed a great captain.

“One of my toughest opposition was the man himself @souravganguly. Not only a tough opposition but a great captain having played under his leadership for @kkriders,” he wrote in Instagram.

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I welcomed any opposition, because i was determined to see the battle through. One of my toughest opposition was the man himself @souravganguly. Not only a tough opposition but a great captain having played under his leadership for @kkriders. #rawalpindiexpress #worldsfastest #161.3 #pakistan #india #shoaibakhtar #pace #cricket #100mph #cricketer #pakistanvindia #greatmemories

A post shared by Shoaib Akhtar (@imshoaibakhtar) on Aug 9, 2020 at 11:24am PDT

Ganguly backed his teammates and gave India superstars like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Kaif and Virender Sehwag. India played five ODIs and three Test matches against Pakistan in 2003-04. Under Ganguly’s captaincy, India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan 3-2 in the ODIs and 2-1 in Tests for the first time.

When Ganguly was appointed as the president of BCCI, Akhtar expressed how he was always a fan and even said, “I never imagined India could beat Pakistan until Sourav Ganguly became the Indian captain.”