Sourav Ganguly: The Best New Zealand Team In A Long While

As captain of the Indian team or president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Sourav Ganguly has always treated Test cricket as the pinnacle format of the game.

- Neeru Bhatia

Therefore, as Team India marched into the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final in England, the charismatic Ganguly gave a thumbs-up to not just the concept of the WTC—which has taken nearly 10 years to take off—but also to the riveting game that unfolded in Southampton despite rains playing spoilsport. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Ganguly gave credit to the evolution of both young batsmen and the bowling unit for India’s march to the final. He said that India’s series win in Australia, in the absence of key players, was the biggest highlight for him in the journey to the WTC finals. Excerpts from the interview:

Are you happy with the introduction of the WTC and what are your thoughts on the final being a one-off match?

It is a very good concept for sure. I think Test cricket is the biggest and strongest form of cricket and it should have a final. As far as the one-off Test as a final is concerned, it is the first [edition]. Things will be looked into for the future. The ICC will get feedback from all stakeholders.

Like head coach Ravi Shastri, are you also in favour of a best-of-three final?

It is too early to say. Let this season finish. The ICC will look at a lot of things. At this stage, I would rather wait before saying anything.

What do you make of the finalists? Both teams had different journeys to the final, and some are not happy that New Zealand got there having played fewer matches.