Aggression is fine but you also need performance: Sourav Ganguly on India’s shortcomings in Test cricket

Sourav Ganguly has been a major driving force in Indian cricket for a while now and recently, was highly critical of the Indian cricket team alongside all the support that he has showered on them too after India slumped down to Australia in the World Test Championship Final.

Batting first, Australia totted up 469 in that first innings while India avoided the blemishes of conceding a follow-on but could only garner 296 in the first innings before crumbling for 234, chasing 444 in the second innings. Ever since India’s defeat, there have been question marks around the team selection, approach to Test cricket and more.

Talking to Star Sports, Ganguly said, “Aggression is fine but you also need performance with that. If you see the five-six years between 2001 and 2006, India’s batters scored 500-600 runs in big venues, whether it was Sydney, Brisbane, Headingley, Nottingham, Oval, Peshawar, Islamabad or Lahore, due to which they put the opposition team under pressure."

He further added, “So I feel the Indian team will have to do that somewhere or the other. I understand cricket has changed slightly between what it was 10 years ago and now, the situations and wickets have changed, but India will have to see that they score 350-400 runs in the first innings in Test cricket.”

Stating further, Ganguly said, “I don’t agree that this team does not have the belief. We played well in England in 2021 and before that, we played good cricket in Australia in 2020-21, where Rishabh Pant won us the series on the last day, I feel that happens with belief only. They play so much cricket and travel a lot, so it probably goes slightly back for a short time, so they need to recoup that and bring it back, which I feel is absolutely possible.”