India’s Under 19 cricket team began their ICC Under-19 World Cup with sheer dominance as they humbled a menacing Australian team in a Group B match. Indian team has always been about its batsmen. Despite being a leading team in all formats of the game, pacers have never, for once dominated the world cricket. Leaving the exceptions Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan, India has never produced genuine pacers who can scare the batsmen. But after a long long time it was the Indian bowlers that outpaced the Australians. Medium Pacer Shivam Mavi was phenomenal but it was pacer Kamlesh Nagarkoti who stole the show. Both pacers touched the 140 Mark, and Nagarkoti even touched the 149 mark which is phenomenal to say the least. But this article is about Dada of Indian Cricket – The legendary Sourav Ganguly.
As the Indian pacers put up an Impressive show, Dada ensured that their talent is noticed and they are given a chance to showcase their talent. Here’s what Sourav Ganguly tweeted:
Dada began the day with a selfie for his fans, looking fresh as a lime for an interesting game of cricket:
Start of under 19 World Cup game at tauranga ..india vs australia ..good luck boys … pic.twitter.com/PCAsfuDwg8
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 14, 2018
Soon Indian Pacers began working up their magic. The 18-year-old Kamlesh Nagarkoti in his very first over raked up a velocity of more than 140 kmph throughout. And it was not just pace but the way he was shooting those lethal deliveries at the batsmen. His line was consistent and length spot-on. And he wasn’t even trying too hard to generate that kind of pace. On the fifth delivery of his first over, he clocked a phenomenal 146 kmph. He was supported by fellow pacer Shivam Mavi who too breached the 140kmph mark. This was reason enough for Sourav Ganguly to get into action.
@imVkohli @VVSLaxman281 @BCCI keep an eye on two under 19quicks ..mavi and nagarkotti ..bowling at 145 in newzealand ..brilliant ..
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 14, 2018
Sourav Ganguly immediately tagged Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Ace Cricketer VVS Lakshman and BCCI and urged them to keep an eye on these 2 precious talents.
He then went ahead and tagged sports journalists Boria Mazumdar and Vikrant Gupta to ensure that these under 19 pacers got enough coverage too. He even tagged Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar so that the young players get enough limelight.
@imVkohli @vikrantgupta73 @BoriaMajumdar @VVSLaxman281 @sachin_rt all 3 under 19 quicks prospect for india ..by far the best in the tournament
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) January 14, 2018
Sourav Ganguly was the single biggest reason behind the revival of our cricketing fortunes. He ran the team like a strict disciplinarian, but it was the need of the hour as multiple factions were already beginning to plague the Indian team. Dada’s aggression was infectious. He came to the field like a raging bull ever ready to crush his opponents.
Indians who played to save matches started playing matches to win them. The Kolkata test of 2001 changed the history of Indian cricket. Indian Team started getting counted amongst the best test playing nations of the world. The might of the Australians was crushed. After that the Kiwis and the English were outdone and all this while new talent came and solidified their place in the Indian Cricket Team. Sourav Ganguly brought in a lot of youngsters and played a key role in encouraging them, the legends of Indian Cricket Team of this generation – Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbhajan and Sehwag were Ganguly’s discoveries. Even Ex Captain Dhoni was discovered by Ganguly!. Sourav Ganguly had an uncanny talent of spotting talent from a distance.
This is what separates A Captain from the Captain. A Captain never really retires. He keeps building the team quietly. Hopefully BCCI, Kohli and Shastri will pay heed to Dada’s advice and provide the promising pacers a chance to prove their worth. As for Dada, thank you being so awesome.
But this article cannot be complete without thanking another legend of Indian Cricket – The inimitable Rahul Dravid. Rahul Dravid has been the director of India’s under-19 Cricket turnaround. With a legend to spot them and another to train them, the future of Indian cricket is in very safe hands.
