The ascendency of India as an economic world power

This is the fourth time that Sourav Ganguly is going to Australia on a tour. The last time Indian cricket team visited Australia was in 2003-04 and that time, Sourav Ganguly was the captain of the team. He was a very successful captain in that tour as India managed to draw the test series with Australia 1-1. Sourav Ganguly earned a lot of praise for this achievement. However, it is now 2007 and Ganguly is perhaps on the twilight of his career. Ganguly is confident that India has a better team now.

India Times put an interview of Ganguly and I am quoting some parts:

Can this Indian team do one better than your side of 2003-04, when the series was drawn 1-1?

I really hope so. Australia are without Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, two of their greatest bowlers. But they will be a tough team, they have Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson. I am sure Brad Hogg (left-arm spinner) is going to play because all good Test teams have good spinners. It is going to be tough but if we can put runs on the board I think we can really push them.

 

What is different about this team, does it have an X-factor which earlier sides didn’t have?

It is just the quality of players and the confidence of having won overseas earlier. In the last six-seven years we have done wonderfully well. Winning in West Indies, England, Pakistan, levelling in Australia. We have done well everywhere. Getting to the World Cup final in South Africa (2003), winning the Twenty20 World Cup.

These are tough places for a subcontinent team. And India have done better than any subcontinental team in these countries. So, from that point of view, I think it is the knowledge of doing well overseas which will help in Australia.

I am a big fan of Sourav Ganguly and I feel that he should have been given the captaincy in the Australia tour. Nevertheless, Sourav Ganguly can play an important role in the Australian tour with his huge experience of Australia.