1. Home
  2. Sports
  3. Current Aussie team worst-ever to tour India: Ganguly

Current Aussie team worst-ever to tour India: Ganguly

March 19, 2013

Aussie_team_worst-ever

Mar 19: Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly today said that the current Australian side is the worst-ever to tour India.

“They don’t have the batsmen to play spinners and spinners to take wickets here. I don’t want to rate the side but having seen the Aussies since 1996, I think this team is the worst-performing on Indian soil,” Ganguly told a regional news channel here today.

Reacting to India’s hattrick of wins against Aussies that had never happened, Ganguly said four days and a spin-friendly track in Kotla were what India need to hand a 4-0 whitewash.

The Australian team management’s decision to sack four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, for the third Test on disciplinary grounds, also did not go down too well with Ganguly.

“No matter how disciplined you are, skill is the most important to be successful. Australia lack skill on this tour. I read somewhere about (former coach) John Buchanan lauding the decision (to sack the four). Just unbelievable, what can I say!”

Meanwhile, Ganguly hoped that Sachin Tendulkar scores some big runs. ”I hope he gets back to form. It’s very important for him to get into the rhythm.”

There may be talks about changing Tendulkar’s batting order but Ganguly said: “I don’t think there’s a need to readjust his order and he should stick to No 4 only.”

Ganguly pointed out that the batting collapse in their second innings was the Aussies’ biggest worry: ”Remember that Clarke won the toss on all three occasions. I won’t be surprised to see India win inside three days if the Aussies were made to bat second.

“In India, you will expect turning tracks only. Four days are just enough to win against this side. I hope India repeat this result on Australian soil as well.”

Asked about the Australia’s prospect in the upcoming Ashes, Ganguly said: “They (Englishmen) have been doing well. I won’t be surprised England win 3-0 in the five-match series.”

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may be on the verge of breaking his record of achieving most wins as India captain, but Ganguly said: “The most important thing for him right now is to build the team. Records are meant to be broken. But let’s hope that Dhoni remains (captain) till the World Cup 2015 and build a good side.”

Ganguly felt that the Board’s think-tank has a plan to continue with the duo of coach Duncan Fletcher and Dhoni: ”The Board must be looking at them to take India till 2015 World Cup, that’s more important,” he said.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.