'Sourav Ganguly had the benefit of Harbhajan and Kumble' - Kris Srikkanth feels MS Dhoni was better in home Test series

Sourav Ganguly, regarded as one of the best skippers in Indian cricket, scripted many famous victories under his belt. While inducing a winning attitude in the side, Ganguly steered the side to the triumph in 21 Tests out of 49.

‘Dada’ was famous for his incredible winning record in overseas Tests. Ganguly was the most successful Indian Test captain overseas, with a total of 11 victories to his name. Talking about Ganguly’s expedition on the home soil, one of the famous victories which India registered under Ganguly was the 2001 Test series win over Australia.

The Steve Waugh-led Australian side had been on a 16-match unbeaten run and Sourav Ganguly and his troops were successful in toppling the dominant visitors. Post Ganguly’s departure, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli have also tasted success in the traditional format on the home soil.

At the moment, India have won 12 straight series at home, with their last Test series loss being against England in 2012 when Dhoni was at the helm.

Sourav Ganguly was fantastic against Australia in 2001 series: Kris Srikkanth

While comparing the captaincy of Ganguly and Dhoni, former India skipper and chief selector Kris Srikkanth said that it’s very difficult to differentiate between the two. However, Srikkanth pointed out that Dhoni had more of an impact in the long run despite not having the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble in his team.

“It’s a very, very difficult comparison. In the 2001 series against Australia, I think Sourav Ganguly was fantastic. Coming back and beating Steve Waugh’s side

“But overall, who has had more impact in long home series? Definitely, I think MS Dhoni. Sourav had the benefit of having Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble while he was playing. Dhoni did not have that luxury. If you look at the home track record, definitely I think Dhoni was better,” Srikkanth said on Star Sports’ Cricket Connected.

Srikkanth was not the only one who heaped praise on MS Dhoni. Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith also lauded the Ranchi stalwart for his calm and composed on-field attitude. Smith also mentioned that it is hard to find anyone in world cricket that didn’t get along with veteran wicketkeeper-batsman.

“I seriously doubt that you probably find anyone in world cricket that didn’t get on with MS. He went about his business. He was calm, he was collected,” Smith said.