England vs India: Apart from Kohli, two Indian cricketers excite Sourav Ganguly

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is considered that man in Indian cricket who has a knack of identifying talent at a really early stage. He had a team full of youngsters and he handpicked them to create match-winners out of them in due course. Ganguly is now an expert and presenting his views during Team India’s ongoing tour of England. Ahead of the Test series Dada has placed his bet on two young Indian cricketers.

He recently revealed the name of two cricketers who, apart from current skipper Virat Kohli, excite him. Ganguly trusts dashing batsman KL Rahul and mesmerising ‘Chinaman’ Kuldeep Yadav to come good on this tour. Both had a great start to their England tour this month as they dazzled in the opening T20I at Old Trafford, Manchester.

KL excites me

“Virat Kohli – everybody is aware of him, but KL Rahul excites me. He’s a seriously good player, a player who’ll score runs everywhere, in all formats,” said the former southpaw in a chat with cricket expert Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz Unplugged.

“The time that he has to play his shots, especially fast bowling. The knock he played (in the first T20I against England), it was outstanding. Even Rohit Sharma was batting at the other end, and I’m not comparing. Rohit has a remarkable record in the shorter formats of the game. Maybe it was one of those days where he was not being able to hit the gaps – it happens when you’ve played the game for a long period of time. But Rahul never looked out of place. He’s shown the world,” Ganguly added.

Rahul played a scintillating knock of 101 not out off 54 balls in the first T20I against England at Old Trafford which India won by 8 wickets. The man averages above 47 in the T20Is this year.

Even the great Kohli was not spared by the former players after in-form Rahul was dropped for the series decider ODI in Leeds which India lost by 8 wickets. Rahul was also in a terrific touch in the IPL this year. In the three-day warm-up match against Essex at Chelmsford ahead of the Test series, too, he hit an assuring half-century for his team at No. 6.  The 26-year-old batsman from Karnataka, it shows, can adjust well with different formats.

Ganguly, who is tied at the moment with Kohli as the second-most successful Indian captain in Tests, also praised Yadav who has been in a great form in this tour. While he grabbed a five-for in the same game in which Rahul slammed a ton, he backed it up with a six-for in the first ODI in Nottingham that India won. Twenty-three-year-old Yadav has already taken 14 wickets in five white-ball matches that he has played.

“He’s tremendous. Kuldeep has got the ability to win you Test matches overseas. I think that’s important,” Ganguly said, sparing a thought also for Ajikya Rahane, India’s prized possession in overseas tours who though has failed to see him a regular in the playing XI. Ganguly put the onus on Kohli’s captaincy over bringing a confident Rahane “back on track”.

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