Rahul Dravid has done a great job in strengthening India’s bench strength – Sourav Ganguly

The Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly has given credit to National Cricket Academy Director Rahul Dravid for churning out the next generation of cricketers.

Dravid, former coach of India’s Under-19 and India A, has played a key role in boosting the careers of young players.

Dravid has played an instrumental role in guiding the young players on the right track. The former Indian skipper has got the best of the young generation and he has given them the right confidence.

Players like Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, Shubman Gill, and Prithvi Shaw have come up in the ranks and a lot of credit goes to Rahul Dravid. These players have done well at the Under-19 and India A level and they have grown in confidence.

Thus, Dravid has played a key role in strengthening India’s bench strength. The team’s bench strength was palpable during India’s tour of Australia when the big players were ruled out due to injuries and players like Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, and T Natarajan had put their hands up.

Sourav Ganguly said while talking to India Today, “I always say that Rahul Dravid has done a great job at the NCA (in Bangalore) as he looks after the second-string players. Mohammed Siraj, you know I see a lot of talent in him, Shardul Thakur every time they have got opportunities they have just stood up.”

“We spoke about Bumrah for all of last year, but India wins without him as well. In Australia, the last Test match, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, no Ishant Sharma in the squad, and you beat Australia in Australia. That’s remarkable.”

On the other hand, Ganguly believes India could have won the Sydney Test had Rishabh Pant remained unbeaten. Pant had scored a blistering knock of 97 runs and had given a glimmer of hope to the visitors. Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari then did a fine job in saving that game.

“I have seen Pant very closely and I believe in match-winners. When they get going on their day, they single-handedly can win matches. Rishabh Pant is such a player. I have also said this in the past, had he stayed at the crease for 5 or 6 overs, India could have won the Sydney Test. He is a game-changer. I like match-winners. In my time, we had Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni.”

India will now face England in the five-match T20I series, starting from 12th March at the grand Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.