Former BCCI president and India Ex-Captain Sourav Ganguly knows very well how much pressure there can be on Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid in the forthcoming World Cup on Indian soil. Saying they are the best men for the job, Ganguly says India will start as favourites against Pakistan on home soil and in front of 110,000 Indian fans in Ahmedabad. “India will always be favourites on home soil. They have a very good side and if the fitness of the players are on track, they will always have a very good chance in home conditions. It will depend on how they play during the tournament and how the fast bowlers perform but that’s for everyone so as I said, India in home conditions will always have a strong chance,” said Sourav Ganguly. Speaking on India Pakistan he said, “It is a huge game. Always was and always will be. You have realised how important it is in the context of the world cup. I used to treat it very much like an India Australia, India South Africa contest. I used to get into the mind-set that it is still the red ball or the white ball you are up against and prepare myself like that. You can’t let the occasion get to you because that’s when you tend to lose focus.”
Picking out Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the three key players for India in batting he said, “Virat is playing very well. He has looked very good in the last few months and is batting extremely well and will be India’s go to man along with Rohit Sharma. Rohit as captain is playing his first and last World Cup. I am speaking about the 50-over World Cup here which will come after 4 years. He could play T-20 but this is a different format. And he too has a superb record in world cups. 5 hundred in the last World Cup where he was brilliant. Finally, it is Shubman Gill who has that class to stand up and win matches for India. Each of them will have to stand up if India has to win the tournament.” Comparing his own 2003 side with the current side, Sourav said, “We had a settled combination. That’s the most important thing. We were a very good team by then and had started winning. We were on song. We had some fantastic players. That’s why I keep saying don’t chop and change ahead of a major tournament. Have a set of players together for 1 year and let them win or lose and get ready as a team. Australia did not chop and change for years between 1999-2003 and that’s why they were so good. For that one year in 2003, we had won everything. We won in the West Indies, won the NatWest and except the blip against New Zealand on those pitches, we won it all. We went to South Africa as a very good team. That’s why it is important that we have our 14 by the Asia Cup, the same 14-15 that will play the World Cup. It is key you know your combination and don’t keep chopping and changing till the last minute.
