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Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly sees a bright future for India, especially in Test cricket. In an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, he revealed that for Tests, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is not the correct mode of measurement, while citing the examples like Bengal's Abhimanyu Easwaran as players who can make a name in the longest format of the sport.
"Three years down the line, you will have to look at the young players. India has enormous reserves. When you look at some of the performances (and I don't consider IPL performance as a yardstick for Test cricket). In domestic cricket, there are some fantastic players and you will only find out when you give them opportunities.
"Whether it's (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, or Rajat Patidat, or Abhimanyu Easwaran from Bengal who scores lots of runs. Shubman Gill is young," Ganguly said.
Hardik Pandya to return to Test cricket?
He also joked that he wants to see Hardik Pandya return to Test cricket as conditions similar to the recently-concluded World Test Championship (WTC) at The Oval in London will greatly favour the all-rounder. "I hope Hardik Pandya is listening. I want to see him play Test cricket, especially in these conditions as well.
"(Apart from Hardik) Young Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, all young boys... India will always have talent. When Gavaskar finished, (Sachin) Tendulkar, (Rahul) Dravid, (VVS) Laxman, (Virender Sehwag) took over, once they were done, Virat Kohli came, and when the current stalwarts retire, somebody else will take their place. That's how good our country is," he added.
Rohit should continue as skipper: Sourav Ganguly
Ganguly stuck to Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid as the way forward for India's leadership group. The duo have come under intense criticism after their loss in the WTC final to Australia, many want to see a change in the dressing room, but Ganguly commended India for reaching the final and compared the ultimate game with the 'nervous 90s' while batting.
"Rohit should continue as skipper, at least until the (ODI) World Cup. I don't know what is on his mind after the World Cup and what he wants to do. But at the moment, the coach and captain are the best for India. I wish them all the luck. As I said, they are getting to a WTC final.
"Among all the teams playing Test cricket, they are the two best teams in this two-year cycle. If we do not get to the final, you don't win trophies. It's like getting out in the 90s as a batter. Everyone says 'you didn't make 100' but you reached the 90s, right? It's the same for India; get to the next final and then think of winning it in a different way," said the former BCCI president.
Ganguly was in London for the WTC final, which India lost to Australia by 209 runs.
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