'Rahul Dravid and me came in 96, went back as successful players': Ganguly urges 'young Indian team' to seize the moment

Former India skipper and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly

When India take to the field on the opening day of the first Test against England in Leeds, it will mark 29 years to the day since Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their Test debuts at Lord’s. Though India lost that series 1-0, both would go on to become legends of Indian cricket, as batters and captains. Dravid remains the last Indian skipper to win a series in England, back in 2007.

In an interview with RevSportz, Ganguly harked back to that tour, and urged the current set of batters to seize their moment too. One of them, Sai Sudharsan, will almost certainly make his debut in Leeds, just weeks on from having starred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a table-topping 759 runs.

“A lot of people are saying it’s a young team, but as Rahul [Dravid] and me came in 1996 and went back as two successful players, so nothing stops Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair,” said Ganguly. “They can return as superstars. For me, it is an opportunity, as there is nothing as pressure in sports.

“It is always an opportunity. In simple language, I want to see good, tough, tight batting in these conditions. Not hit through the line, not hit on the up, not play the loose shot outside off stump, because these conditions will test them.”

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If that long-ago England tour was the making of Ganguly and Dravid, it proved disastrous for another debutant, Vikram Rathour, who made just 46 in four innings and would play only three more Tests. Already, the naysayers have questioned the wisdom of picking Sudharsan, who averages less than 40 (39.93) in first-class cricket.

“Very good player, but IPL, white-ball and Test cricket in England are different,” said Ganguly when asked to run the rule over his fellow left-hand batter. “But I think he has got the technique and temperament. He scores in big matches. Again, for him, nothing changes – fight hard in these conditions, get through the new ball as he is a top-order batsman.”

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England, even with some bowling concerns of their own – Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson won’t be fit and ready for the first Test – start as prohibitive favourites, but Ganguly, who led India to a 1-1 draw against Nasser Hussain’s England in 2002, wasn’t about to wave the white flag. “Yes, why not?” he replied when asked if India could win. “We won in Australia, in Melbourne (2020-21), with a young batting line-up, having no [Virat] Kohli, no Rohit Sharma. So, I do not see why we cannot win.”