Ganguly and Kohli’s captaincy along similar lines, opines Venkatesh Prasad 

Ganguly and Kohli’s captaincy along similar lines, opines Venkatesh Prasad 

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Venkatesh Prasad Sourav Ganguly's captaincy

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Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad has admitted that Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli’s captaincy has been ‘pretty much on similar lines’ as both transformed their respective teams. Prasad noted that while Ganguly seldom showed his emotions, Kohli is way more aggressive on the field.

Veteran pacer Venkatesh Prasad made his international debut under captain Mohammad Azharuddin in the year 1994 against New Zealand. Prasad, who was known for his fast-bowling partnership with fellow pacer Javagal Srinath, played under Sourav Ganguly in 4 Tests and 21 ODIs including his last match in 2001 against Kenya.

The former bowling coach of Team India compared Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli as captains and said that the two received captaincy duties along similar lines. Prasad hailed Ganguly for the standards he set through his leadership in the Indian cricket circuit but admitted that the former Indian skipper had his own shortcomings as a player but added that the way the Bengal man transformed that team, that did include experienced players, was commendable.

“I think Sourav and Virat are pretty much on similar lines, because Sourav also took up captaincy when there were a lot of negative things going around the team. That's one. Second, Sourav had to really transform the team. I think it required huge leadership skills basically. And that's what Sourav showed. He had an amazing leadership quality and he set the standard both as captain and a player. He set very high standards in both categories. Yet there were some shortcomings. When it comes to Sourav's fitness or maybe his fielding skills or whatever. But that's fine. Who doesn't have shortcomings? But what was important at that stage was a good leader. And that's what Sourav showed everybody - what a leader can do. He transformed the team," Prasad told Timesofindia.com.

“When he took over the captaincy, there were experienced players like Sachin (Tendulkar), (Anil) Kumble, (Rahul) Dravid, Javagal (Srinath) and VVS (Laxman). I myself was there too. They all had some years of experience with them. Sachin was the most experienced then, with around 10 plus years of experience. There was a great mix of players. On one side there were experienced players, on the other side you had players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. We had a great mix of players, but the leadership skill was extremely important to get the experienced players and the youngsters together and to play for the same mission and same goal. I think that Sourav was wonderful. He transformed the team on his own.”

Prasad, who represented India in 33 Tests and 161 ODIs, also recalled the 2003 World Cup final which India had reached under Ganguly’s captaincy. Many blame Ganguly for choosing to bowl first against Australia in the final, and losing the game by 125 runs, but Prasad felt differently. The Kings XI Punjab bowling coach defended Ganguly, stating that it was his captaincy that had taken India to the final in the first place. He hence drew parallels between Ganguly and Kohli. Prasad attested that Ganguly was someone who hardly showed his emotions on the field, while Kohli is someone who is known for showcasing his aggression on the field.

“The 2003 World Cup final didn't go well but they still made the finals and, of course, from there onwards, he (Sourav Ganguly) did a great job. So I would say Virat is pretty much on the same lines of Sourav. Sourav never showed his emotions, a couple of times only we have seen Sourav showing his emotions. Virat comes across as a very, very passionate guy and comes with controlled aggression. This doesn't mean that he goes overboard. People might feel that he goes overboard but that's his aggression, that's what keeps him going. That is what keeps him in the game. That is what keeps him thinking all the time. It's easily visible, whereas Sourav's aggression wasn't that visible apart from a couple of incidents," Prasad explained.

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