Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain, has been both supportive and critical of the Indian cricket team. Following India’s defeat to Australia in the World Test Championship Final (WTC) 2023, Ganguly acknowledged that cricket has evolved, and teams consistently scoring mammoth totals in Tests is now part of the game’s history. However, he believes that for India to ace the format, they will have to score heavily in the first innings.
In the WTC Final, Australia posted a substantial total of 469 in their first innings, while India managed 296 before eventually collapsing for 234 in their pursuit of 444. The defeat raised concerns about team selection, the team’s approach to Test cricket, and other factors.
“Aggression is fine but you also need performance with that. If you see the five-six years between 2001 and 2006, India’s batters scored 500-600 runs in big venues, whether it was Sydney, Brisbane, Headingley, Nottingham, Oval, Peshawar, Islamabad or Lahore, due to which they put the opposition team under pressure,” Ganguly was quoted as saying to Star Sports.
“So I feel the Indian team will have to do that somewhere or the other. I understand cricket has changed slightly between what it was 10 years ago and now, the situations and wickets have changed, but India will have to see that they score 350-400 runs in the first innings in Test cricket,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added further.
Questions have also been raised about the players’ confidence in knockout or title matches, as India have suffered consecutive defeats in the WTC finals. Ganguly believes that the current Indian Test team does not lack belief, but he hinted that the players’ heavy workload might be taking a toll. The demanding schedule could potentially affect their performance and confidence in crucial matches.
“I don’t agree that this team does not have the belief. We played well in England in 2021 and before that, we played good cricket in Australia in 2020-21, where Rishabh Pant won us the series on the last day, I feel that happens with belief only. They play so much cricket and travel a lot, so it probably goes slightly back for a short time, so they need to recoup that and bring it back, which I feel is absolutely possible,” Ganguly pointed out.
