Sourav Ganguly picks three 2019 World Cup India players which he would have liked in his 2003 World Cup squad

Known for his aggressive leadership approach, Sourav Ganguly was one of the most successful Indian skippers. ‘Dada’ is widely recognized as the man who revolutionized the mindset of the Indian side. He was also the most successful Indian Test captain overseas with a total of 11 victories.

Along with earning accolades for his wins, Ganguly was also famous for backing youngsters of the team. Many prolific players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra flourished under Ganguly’s captaincy.

Ganguly led India in 146 ODIs, winning 76 of them, boasting a win ratio of 54 per cent. The current BCCI president led the Men in Blue to the finals of 2000 Champions Trophy, won the 2002 Natwest Trophy, won the 2002 Champions trophy. Ganguly even led the side to 2003 World Cup final, only to suffer a defeat at the hands of Australia.

Sourav Ganguly explains why he omitted MS Dhoni

Ganguly, while looking back at 2003 World Cup final, recently named three players from 2019 World Cup squad which he would’ve loved to have in his side. The India legend said he would take Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah in the 2003 World Cup side.

“(Virat) Kohli, Rohit Sharma and (Jasprit) Bumrah. The quality of fast bowler (Bumrah). We played in South Africa, although we bowled exceptionally well in that series,” Ganguly said on the fan chat show ‘#DadaOpensWithMayank’ on BCCI’s official Twitter handle.

“Rohit and Virat would be in the middle. Rohit at the top, and I at no. 3. I don’t know maybe Sehwag might be listening to this and I would get a phone call tomorrow, ‘what the hell do you think’. But I would have these three in the squad,” he added.

Ganguly further added that he would have liked MS Dhoni behind the stumps as well. However, he couldn’t slot in the Ranchi stalwart as he was only given three choices. Ganguly also pointed out that leaving Dhoni out from the side won’t affect much as Rahul Dravid had done an impressive job behind the stumps in the showpiece event.

“MS Dhoni also – but since you gave me three choices, I would have managed with Rahul Dravid behind the stumps, because I think he did a great job in the World Cup,” said Ganguly.