'No doubt about that he took the Indian team forward' - Mohammad Kaif heaps praise on former India skipper for latter's valuable contributions

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly turned 51 years old on Saturday, July 8 as the entire cricketing fraternity wished the legendary cricketer on his special day. Ganguly is hailed as one of the greatest captains of India as he took over the responsibility following the match-fixing scandal of 2000.

Under his leadership, the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ groomed several young players such as Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and many more.

One such player who excelled under Ganguly’s captaincy was Mohammad Kaif. The 42-year-old is famously remembered for his match-winning knock of 87* (75) against England in the final of the tri-series in 2002. Speaking about Ganguly, Kaif said that he’s the best captain he played under as he took the team forward after the fixing scandal and backed youngsters.

“I would say Sourav Ganguly. Captaincy means you need to be a leader, lead from the front, pick the right players, 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 further stated that Ganguly always stood behind his players and encouraged them to give their best shot.

“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 about that he took the Indian team forward," Kaif added.

Ganguly is the third most successful captain of India in both Tests and ODIs

Notably, the former India captain is the third most successful captain (in terms of wins) for the country in both Tests and ODIs having led them to 21 and 76 wins in both formats respectively. Under his leadership, India won the famous Test series against Australia in 2001 at home and also drew a four-match away series against them (1-1). 

In ODIs, the Men in Blue won the tri-series in England in 2002 and were also the joint winners of the ICC Champions Trophy in the same year. Ganguly also led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup where they finished as the runners-up of the tournament after losing to Australia.