Sourav Ganguly believes that young cricketers can balance their IPL aspirations with first-class cricket commitments, highlighting that there’s no clash between the two.
Former India captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly highlighted the possibility for young cricketers to participate in both red-ball and white-ball domestic cricket. In an interview with TOI, Ganguly expressed confidence in the BCCI’s actions regarding the absence of Ranji Trophy matches, stressing that players have historically balanced both formats.
“I think this is the first time that someone has not played or ignored red-ball domestic cricket. Otherwise, all of them have played Ranji Trophy when they were free. I am sure the BCCI will take proper action,” Ganguly was quoted as saying.
“They can play both red-ball and white-ball. IPL career can happen along with a stint in first-class cricket. They don’t clash. First-class cricket finishes and then there’s almost a month before the IPL starts. I don’t see any problem,” he added.
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Ganguly also emphasized the versatility of players who excel in both Test and white-ball cricket, citing examples like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Mitchell Marsh.
“A lot of the top quality players play Test cricket and white-ball cricket. You look at Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. On the world stage, there’s Mitchell Marsh. He is Australia’s premier red-ball player now. Harry Brook plays red-ball cricket. David Warner played so much Test cricket but he was also one of the best white-ball players. Even in my days, Sachin, Rahul and myself played Test cricket and then played white-ball cricket. There’s no reason to say that you can play one and not the other,” he said.
The former skipper further addressed concerns about workload management, questioning its necessity for batters, especially early in their careers. He underlined that workload management is primarily relevant for fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Jimmy Anderson, who have played numerous Tests. Ganguly then reiterated his confidence in the high standard of Indian cricket and advocated for a balanced approach to assessing players’ performances across different formats.
Last Updated on March 2, 2024
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