Shoaib Akhtar hailed Sourav Ganguly and said he changed the shape of Indian cricket and believed that he could do the same to world cricket now.
Akhtar asked Ganguly to capitalize on his weight at the international body and do something revolutionary to save Test cricket. (Photo: Shoaib Akhtar: Twitter/shoaib100mph, Sourav Ganguly: IANS).
Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar praised Sourav Ganguly and said that before his captaincy India was not among the team who could defeat Pakistan regularly.
“In the 1990s, I never thought that India would be able to defeat Pakistan, but with Ganguly, all changed,” Akhtar said on his official YouTube channel. He also pointed out how the former Indian captain prioritized bringing new faces which, he felt, changed the shape of Indian cricket.
“When he became captain, I saw him bringing in new faces like Sehwag, Yuvraj, Zaheer. He created an exceptional setup and finally I thought India could defeat Pakistan,” Akhtar added.
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Also, talking about Ganguly’s selection as the next BCCI president, Akhtar congratulated him and believed that with him becoming the chief India would have a strong voice in ICC. He asked Ganguly to capitalize on his weight at the international body and do something revolutionary to save Test cricket. He further added that he would want to see some relaxation for the fast bowlers as well and return of the bodyline bowling.
“I want to see international cricket flourish. India has strong power when it comes to cricket, ICC always values India’s word. I want to see Test cricket saved by a cricketer who thrived in playing the longest format of the game. I want to see relaxation for fast bowlers, I want the return of bodyline bowling,” the fastest bowler in the world added.
Akhtar also added that with too much T20 cricket around the world players don’t get adequate rest for their international engagements. He added, “There is too much of cricket, I want it to be checked. There is a new era of world cricket. Sourav can make a difference.”
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