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Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly has advised the selectors and head coach Rahul Dravid to stick with the current team instead of chopping and changing ahead of ODI World Cup at home later this year to end the winless run in ICC events.
In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, Ganguly talked about the potential of women's IPL and how the tournament will not be limited to just five franchises. The former Indian skipper revealed how Women’s Premier League (WPL) was a brainchild of his administration during his three-year tenure as BCCI President.
Excerpts
Q1. Sourav Ganguly on the implementation of women's IPL and its origins
Sourav: We had done the brainstorming during the time when I was BCCI president. I was President, Rajeev Shukla was VP, Jay Shah was secretary, Arun Dhumal was treasurer. We did this planning at that time, and now it has been implemented. I am not surprised about Women's IPL and in the coming days, I don't think it will be limited to only 5 teams.
Q2. On women cricketers equal pay
Sourav: I have invested by time for women's Cricket. In three years Jay and I both have worked for it. But in between there was Covid-19 for two years. Many things were delayed due to that. I have seen a lot of development in women's cricket in the last three years. And I give due credit to our women cricketers, coaches and staff who have done a tremendous job.
Q3. On Virat Kohli's good form
Sourav: Virat Kohli is doing well. He has done well against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He has to do well at Test Cricket because the Indian cricket team depends on him. The Australia series is coming soon and I hope it will be a very good one. I want India and Australia to play the World Test Championship Final.
Q4. What are the chances of the Indian team in the upcoming World Cup?
Sourav: Indian side is very strong. India can't be a bad team. In our country, there are lots of players who play cricket. Half of them don't get a chance in the national team as the competition is very high. I want this team to play till World Cup. I want that the selectors and Rahul Dravid should keep this team together till World Cup. And in World Cup they should not worry much, they just have to play well.
Q5. India have not been able to win an ICC tournament since 2013, what do you think India need to do to win ODI World Cup?
Sourav: They just need to play the World Cup fearlessly, they have to keep calm. It is a good team and all the players are good. This team has Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja will also come back. This is a very strong team.
