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Ganguly would’ve done better in Tests had he batted higher: Dilip Vengsarkar
Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of selectors when Ganguly made a comeback to the Indian Test side after being ignored for almost a year, said Ganguly was a terrific player against spinners.
With 11363 runs and 22 hundreds in 311 matches, Sourav Ganguly is still India’s third-highest run and century scorer in ODIs behind Sachin Tendulkar and current captain Virat Kohli. Ganguly’s credentials in ODIs make him one of the best cricketers in the modern-day game. But what often slips under the radar is his performance in the longest format of the game. Believe it or not, Ganguly has a higher average (42.17) in Test cricket than ODIs (41.02). Touching the same factor, former India captain and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said Ganguly would have fared better had he batted higher up the order in Test cricket.
Ganguly, who started his Test career by scoring a debut hundred at Lord’s, batting at No.3, later on, settled at No.5 in the batting line-up which was dominated by the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.
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“I always believed he would have done better in Test cricket had he batted higher in the order. His innings at Brisbane was a class act,” Vengsarkar told the Times of India.
Ganguly batted at No.5 in 99 innings out of his 188 in Test cricket, which is more than 50%. While his overall Test average stands over 42, it comes down to 37.39 when batting at No.5.
Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of selectors when Ganguly made a comeback to the Indian Test side after being ignored for almost a year, said Ganguly was a terrific player against spinners.
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“A terrific player against spinners, he relished playing shots on the off side. A very good student of the game and good at man-management, he led India with great success,” added Vengsarkar.
Ganguly is also regarded as one of the best captains to have led India. Recently former England skipper Nasser Hussain, who played a lot of cricket against the left-hander, rated the current BCCI president as the face of the change in Indian cricket.
“Ganguly changed Indian cricket,” said Hussain in a podcast with Sky Sports. “Before Ganguly, India were a very humble, polite team. He made them a very feisty side.”
Ganguly retired with 7212 runs in 113 Tests with 16 hundreds to his name.
