'Full-strength' Australia in 2020-21 will be 'bigger challenge' for India - Sourav Ganguly

[cowboysfan]

wtf kind of comments are those by the Bcci president  no less,its our biggest achievement  in cricket for decades for Petes sake.

[Cricwala]

10 hours ago, SK_IH said:

I agree with his judgement. But the narcissistic that Ganguly is, he still had the gall of gloating over his achievement against a similarly flawed Aus team of 2003. 

At least Kohli won the series, instead of drawing a series and still hailing it as achievement.

Agree....Ganguly need not have said 2018 win was easy (it sure wasn't), and our biggest achievement on that tour was way our batsmen tackled their full-strength attack. This business of running down our own teams and achievements is unique to indians/desis. Even if u believe 2020 tour willbe more difficult, keep it internal, don't hv to declare it to world.

[Cricwala]

8 hours ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

• Shaw , gill, Rahul all shud be in the mix provided Rahul gets back strong on his technique  as they will target Pujara n Vihari this time for sure 
• make sure saini gets settled before this tour, he can be the key to smith 
• Infact get siraj also ready incase of injury or form issue 

Don't forget Kuldeep, he shld be #1 spinner on hard, true Aussie pitches IF his form recovers for which he should be playing Ranji + country.

 

But who are we kidding...all these plans we are hoping for will count for nothing in King Kohli's world

[Cricwala]

It's sad that in our system, in sports and so many things, we feel the need to make our points through media or some public platform rather than just speak directly to all stakeholders....Kohli/Shastri with their constant chatter to prove their record, and their brushing off criticism for knock out loss or overseas losses as just 1 bad day or 'we still competed, more than any other team of past',might have necessitated this tactic by Ganguly to remind them Indian cricket expects and deserves more. But the day we don't have to resort to these public duels and the whole system starts working in unison is the time when we will become truly indomitable

[Ankit_sharma03]

1 hour ago, Cricwala said:

Don't forget Kuldeep, he shld be #1 spinner on hard, true Aussie pitches IF his form recovers for which he should be playing Ranji + country.

Yup his form is a big If as of now 

 

[RajBan]

Nothing wrong in what Ganguly said. Those who are criticizing him does not have much knowledge on Indian cricket in 90s and the change that was initiated by him and his colleagues in the late 90s.

 

The Australian team back then was not just good but just invincible. The batting line-up was just mind blowing in their conditions, dare I say even better than India's. While India had the so called fab five , they were Fab seven - Hayden, Langer, Pointing, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Steve Waugh, Gilchrist. More than talent , each one of them was a fighter and extremely spirited individual.

[gattaca]

7 hours ago, RajBan said:

Nothing wrong in what Ganguly said. Those who are criticizing him does not have much knowledge on Indian cricket in 90s and the change that was initiated by him and his colleagues in the late 90s.

 

The Australian team back then was not just good but just invincible. The batting line-up was just mind blowing in their conditions, dare I say even better than India's. While India had the so called fab five , they were Fab seven - Hayden, Langer, Pointing, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Steve Waugh, Gilchrist. More than talent , each one of them was a fighter and extremely spirited individual.

Very poor from Ganguly. The win in Australia was a big achievement for us. He is an administrator now not commentator. He should stop talking about Indian tours and get busy in working on many admin things like planning for tours based on right amount of rest for bowlers and at least cleanup that eden garden stadium where he has been a admin and couldn’t still figure out the rain water problem that water logs the whole ground. COA also has quit and getting back India’s fair shair of profits back should be his priority. He is getting in these useless putting down people because he doesn’t like shastri. He is turning in to awful pick for an admin. 

[ganeshran]

It's good to bring Shastri down a peg or two. He has been mouthing off in the media with only bilateral wins to show. 

 

We have done very well in the last few years (with the exception of England tests and ICC trophies) and now its time to fill that gap. With the way Shastri and Kohli speak, they sound like we have already reached the peak

[Vilander]

Ind will dominate the aus team in aus. Saini shaw gill are needed in the team.

[diga]

Openers & spin options apart from Ashwin are a "big if" in Australia.  

[R!TTER]

On 12/29/2019 at 5:14 PM, Sandeep99 said:

Does Ganguly remotely think he drew against a ‘full strength’ Australia in 2003? He speaks as if that is the case. Andy Bichel and Brad Williams are not even I the top 20 Aussie bowers of all time. At least Pujara and co tamed Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, and Lyon - easily Australia’s 2nd/3rd  greatest bowing attack of all time.

 

Have some shame, Ganguly.

You're comparing that Oz side to this one? Even when not at their best they had a top 7 in that series avg all above 50, never before & never after has a side had such a batting pedigree. That was the side to beat post the all conquering WIndies & even without McWarne they were great. People often bring those 2 not playing together, well they were statistically half the unit & at home you overcome those odds simple as that.

 

The side we beat in 2003 & nearly won at Sydney, if not for the dropped catches & sh!t umpiring will still remain the best Oz side we beat ever.

[R!TTER]

15 hours ago, ganeshran said:

It's good to bring Shastri down a peg or two. He has been mouthing off in the media with only bilateral wins to show. 

 

We have done very well in the last few years (with the exception of England tests and ICC trophies) and now its time to fill that gap. With the way Shastri and Kohli speak, they sound like we have already reached the peak

Who knows they might already have, they don't last long with each other do they 

[Vickydev]

This is exactly what is needed , someone with power who doesnt sing praises of the teams achievement.

International test cricket is at an all time low in terms of competitiveness, so unless we go around and dominate every where there is no way we should compare the current team with the ATGs. 

Last couple of years were a great oppurtunity to create a legacy but we have only a test series win over Aussies to show for our achievements, lots of other missed chances due to multitude of reasons.There is so much to achieve over the next year, and with the talent at the disposal this could be really a defining phase in Indian Cricket and somebody needs to emphasise on that.

[RajBan]

On 12/30/2019 at 3:51 PM, gattaca said:

Very poor from Ganguly. The win in Australia was a big achievement for us. He is an administrator now not commentator. He should stop talking about Indian tours and get busy in working on many admin things like planning for tours based on right amount of rest for bowlers and at least cleanup that eden garden stadium where he has been a admin and couldn’t still figure out the rain water problem that water logs the whole ground. COA also has quit and getting back India’s fair shair of profits back should be his priority. He is getting in these useless putting down people because he doesn’t like shastri. He is turning in to awful pick for an admin. 

No he is not. I think most here with that opinion is going by cherry picked snippets from an  interview without having full context of those conversations. Regardless, what he has said is true and pragmatic and should keep the team motivated to continue to perform away from home and not getting comfortable with a one time show. A true administrator must acknowledge the current state and not necessarily talk false praise to satisfy ego. If that's what is expected then why are we criticizing the current selection committee. They have pretty much complied with Team management demands without necessarily always going by merit or taking the selection blunders in different matches in consideration. We all have see how winnable matches and away series have been thrown away due to whims and fantasies of team management.

[express bowling]

31 minutes ago, RajBan said:

No he is not. I think most here with that opinion is going by cherry picked snippets from an  interview without having full context of those conversations. Regardless, what he has said is true and pragmatic and should keep the team motivated to continue to perform away from home and not getting comfortable with a one time show. A true administrator must acknowledge the current state and not necessarily talk false praise to satisfy ego. If that's what is expected then why are we criticizing the current selection committee. They have pretty much complied with Team management demands without necessarily always going by merit or taking the selection blunders in different matches in consideration. We all have see how winnable matches and away series have been thrown away due to whims and fantasies of team management.

 

Till the IPL franchises became unusually powerful and " cloutful ", even top cricket players used to be criticized if they were underperforming or said something over the top. Kapil got dropped after hitting one irresponsible shot. 

 

In the last few years, the big players from India have become immune to criticism. No matter what they do or how they perform, there is a big machinery praising them non stop. And top commentators and ex-players are part of this machinery.  Everyone is afraid to come out with fair criticism even.   Even big journalists don't come up with tough interviews. 

 

Almost every " big voice " has become cheer leaders of the big cricketers. We don't get to hear or read fair criticism even. 

 

In this scenario, we need some big voices to come out with fair criticism and point out the obvious flaws.  

 

It is good that Ganguly is doing it. Need more people to join him. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by express bowling

[Stan AF]

A whole lot depends on how we do in the T20 WC that precedes this test series. So it will be a long & grueling 3 months down under. I can't remember any one time we won both a test series and a limited overs tournament in one tour in australia.

[Lannister]

Performance in NZ should give us an idea what's in store for Kohli's team against Australia. 

 

His Test team is already on decline with the backups no where ready for the away tours. He is not even interested to blood the next batch of pace bowlers. 

 

 

[RajBan]

4 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

Till the IPL franchises became unusually powerful and " cloutful ", even top cricket players used to be criticized if they were underperforming or said something over the top. Kapil got dropped after hitting one irresponsible shot. 

 

In the last few years, the big players from India have become immune to criticism. No matter what they do or how they perform, there is a big machinery praising them non stop. And top commentators and ex-players are part of this machinery.  Everyone is afraid to come out with fair criticism even.   Even big journalists don't come up with tough interviews. 

 

Almost every " big voice " has become cheer leaders of the big cricketers. We don't get to hear or read fair criticism even. 

 

In this scenario, we need some big voices to come out with fair criticism and point out the obvious flaws.  

 

It is good that Ganguly is doing it. Need more people to join him. 

Agree word by word. We don't need people who used to ridicule every new comer, at the same time we don't need people who purposely avoid any critical analysis and only focussed on benefiting themselves through buttering of the team management and administration.

[express bowling]

4 minutes ago, RajBan said:

We don't need people who used to ridicule every new comer, 

 

Sadly, this part still continues, if the newcomer does not belong to some powerful IPL franchise.

 

 

[Stan AF]

4 hours ago, express bowling said:

 

Till the IPL franchises became unusually powerful and " cloutful ", even top cricket players used to be criticized if they were underperforming or said something over the top. Kapil got dropped after hitting one irresponsible shot. 

 

In the last few years, the big players from India have become immune to criticism. No matter what they do or how they perform, there is a big machinery praising them non stop. And top commentators and ex-players are part of this machinery.  Everyone is afraid to come out with fair criticism even.   Even big journalists don't come up with tough interviews. 

 

Almost every " big voice " has become cheer leaders of the big cricketers. We don't get to hear or read fair criticism even. 

 

In this scenario, we need some big voices to come out with fair criticism and point out the obvious flaws.  

 

It is good that Ganguly is doing it. Need more people to join him. 

Great post. This applies to every sphere of life in India including politics. Ideally if Kohli loses either the T20 WC or this series he should be made to step down.