Kolkata : India getting ‘undue advantage’ playing all ICC Champions Trophy 2025 playing all matches in Dubai? Should India have travelled to Pakistan? Who’s favorite to win Champions Trophy? The former Indian legendary captain Sourav Ganguly opened it all at Trailblazers Conclave 3.0, organized by Revsportz.
Regarding not travelling to Pakistan, Ganguly clarified that Indian Cricket team don’t have anything to do with this decision as it’s solely depends upon Indian Government, who doesn’t allow the team to travel to the country due to political disputes and security measures.
Even last edition of Asia Cup was also played in hybrid model, which was hosted by Pakistan.
“It’s the Indian government which doesn’t permit the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. The BCCI or the Indian team have got nothing to do with this,” said Ganguly in a session named Sourav on Sourav.
Pakistan Pitches saw ample amounts of 300-350+ scores in this edition of Champions Trophy, with highest total being 362 runs by New Zealand against South Africa in Semi Final at Lahore, also highest total in history of the tournament.
Ganguly, taking a dig at it said that by not travelling to Pakistan, Indian Batters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, etc are missing such flat tracks of Pakistan by not travelling to the country. India are currently playing all matches at Dubai due to hybrid model and Pitches are less flat compared to those of Pakistan.
“I think the Virat Kohlis, Rohit Sharmas and Shubman Gills are missing out on those pitches where other teams are scoring 350 for fun. I don’t think there is any undue advantage at play here”, Ganguly said jokingly.
Under Ganguly’s leadership in Champions Trophy 2000, India faced the same New Zealand whom India will face in Champions Trophy 2025. India almost won it in Nairobi against New Zealand when Chris Cairns won it for the Kiwis. Therefore, the former Indian captain said that New Zealand are the toughest opponent with formidable Batting and spin lineup. However, Ganguly remains positive of India’s Batting and picked them as favourites.
He said, “New Zealand are probably the toughest opposition for India at the moment. Their batting and spin bowling are formidable. But I think India’s batting is stronger. We also have formidable spinners. India are the favourites. Having said that, there are no favourites in a final.”
Talking about India’s phenomenal White Ball form in recent times since 2023 World Cup till date, where India just lost 1 match, Ganguly said, “it’s phenomenal to reach the final of three ICC events — the 2023 50-over World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the ongoing Champions Trophy. “It’s an incredible achievement. How many teams do that? But I think in red-ball cricket, the team has to do better. That’s something Rohit’s team has to address.”
‘Rohit Sharma not good enough in Test Cricket, should take responsibility… ‘
Ganguly praised Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s phenomenal captaincy in White Ball Cricket as he proved himself. However, he said that Rohit is not good enough in Test Cricket in recent times and being a captain should be more responsible, keeping in mind the away series against England later this year. India lost home Test Series against New Zealand 4-0 & Border Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 under his captaincy, facing lot’s of criticisms for Test leadership role.
Talking about his own legacy, the batter known for his fluency on the off-side of the pitch said it’s about learning from failures. “That’s what reality is. I remember Rahul Dravid saying that he failed 400 times out of 600 opportunities. In life, you will see more frustrating times than the happier ones. The important part is, you have to wake up stronger the next day and look forward to life. You have to get ready for the next day and not look back being harsh on yourself.”
Boria Majumdar, the editor of RevSportz, asked Ganguly about the expectations he had of himself when he took over as the captain of the Indian team. He said there were none. “I had no expectations. I had no philosophy. All that I had in mind was the best interest of the team. We had to change the mindset and team culture to win abroad. That was the challenge.”
