Sourav Ganguly is having quite a debut stint as a coach. The former India captain is currently spearheading Pretoria Capitals’ campaign in the SA20, and under his leadership, the side captained by Keshav Maharaj has reached the tournament’s finals, set to be played on Sunday, January 25. Pretoria Capitals reached the summit clash on Wednesday after defeating Sunrisers Eastern Cape by seven wickets in Qualifier 1 at Kingsmead, Durban. Dewald Brevis stepped up with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 75 runs off 38 balls with four 4s and seven 6s to take the Capitals into the final.
On Thursday, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went gaga over Ganguly’s maiden stint, saying the former India captain is showing how Indians can be great coaches. He also lauded the former BCCI President, stating that the Prince of Kolkata is causing quite a stir in the Rainbow Nation.
It is worth noting that Ganguly was roped in as the head coach of the Pretoria Capitals before the start of the fourth edition of the SA20. Shaun Pollock is also part of the backroom staff, serving as an assistant coach.
“He once said “ When I write my autobiography, it will create tremors”. For now he is creating tremors in South Africa with his @PretoriaCapsSA team. His leadership as always been inspirational and this one as a coach is no different,” Ashwin wrote on X.
“Taking Indian coaching to the world,” he added.
Campaign to remember
Earlier, the Capitals finished second in the points table in the fourth season of the SA20, with 24 points after winning five games and losing four.
Shortly before being appointed as the head coach of the Pretoria Capitals, Ganguly had spoken about possibly taking over the reins of the Indian team. Speaking to news agency PTI, he said he would love to take over if given the opportunity.
“I never really thought about it because I got into different roles. I finished (competitive cricket) in 2013 and then became Board (BCCI) President. We’ll see what the future holds. I’m just 50 (53), so let’s see what happens. I’m open to it. We’ll see where it goes,” Ganguly said.
Ganguly is famous as one of the finest Indian captains, having played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, scoring more than 18,000 runs across the two formats. He also led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup. Under his captaincy, India also won the famous Natwest final in 2002 against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Ganguly also held the post of president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the BCCI. Ganguly took over as the president of BCCI in 2019. His tenure ended in 2022, when he was succeeded by Roger Binny.
