The tours of Australia later this year and England in mid-2025 will be the real test for Team India and their quicks, believes Sourav Ganguly.
The current side has almost all its bases covered, said Sourav, and he backs them to do well on these “two most important tours.”
Speaking on the sidelines of a promotional at a city hotel on Monday, the former India cricket team captain and ex-president of the BCCI said: “India are a very good team with talent in every department. We saw that in their (ODI) World Cup runners-up finish last year and the (T20) World Cup triumph this year. That only happens when you are a good side.
“(But) I’m looking forward to their tour to Australia... that for me will be the real test for the squad. And then when they tour England in July. These are the two most important tours, to be honest.
“I think the pace bowling department with (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Siraj is very well placed, and once Mohammed Shami comes back fit, it’s going to be even stronger.”
Sourav also made a special mention of Bengal pacer Akash Deep, who was quite impressive in the Duleep Trophy first-round game for India A in Bengaluru with a match-haul of nine wickets. Akash does have the ability to complement the pace attack in Australia, Sourav believes.
“Akash Deep is an outstanding young fast bowler. He runs in, he bowls quick and will run in for a long period. He’s fit and I’ve seen him play for Bengal and taking wickets.
“He’ll be as quick as Siraj and Shami (bowling), in the high 140kmph. He’s somebody to watch out for.”
Sourav, though, was a bit surprised by the omission of Akash’s Bengal pace colleague Mukesh Kumar from the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. “I’m a little surprised not to see Mukesh Kumar in the squad, but I think he’ll be a great bowler in Australian and English conditions, where there’s seam and bounce on the pitch,” Sourav stated.
He lavished praise on Bangladesh for their maiden Test series victory on Pakistan soil, but also said that India will be “a different kettle of fish” for Najmul Hossain Shanto and his team. “Bangladesh did exceptionally well in Pakistan. Going to Pakistan and beating Pakistan is never easy, but India will be a different kettle of fish.
“I don’t see Bangladesh winning here. But India must expect good, tough cricket from Bangladesh because they are coming into the series with a lot of confidence,” Sourav explained.
Pant’s Test return
Rishabh Pant hasn’t had many reasons to cheer for since returning to international cricket following his recovery from the car accident he suffered in December 2022.
In red-ball cricket, though, the keeper-batter has often proved he’s a different beast, giving a glimpse of that with his 47-ball 61 in the Duleep game for India B in Bengaluru.
“I consider Pant as one of India’s best Test batsmen,” Sourav said about the 26-year-old, who’s set to make a comeback to Test cricket in Chennai on September 19.
“I’m not surprised that he’s back in the side, and he will continue to play for India in Tests. He’ll be an all-time great in Tests if he keeps performing in this manner. To me, he needs to get better in the shorter format with the talent he has and I’m sure he will with time.”
Abysmal Pakistan
“Genuine dearth of talent” in Pakistan is the reason behind their recent streak of poor performances, Sourav pointed out. “When we think of Pakistan, it reminds us of Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Mohammed Yousuf, Younis Khan... That’s the memory of Pakistan for us...
“When I look at Pakistan today in world cricket, there is a genuine dearth of talent in that country. The people connected with the sport there will have to look into it.”
