New Delhi: It is now a widely accepted fact that Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly are not the best of friends, particularly since the appointment of Anil Kumble as Indian cricket team's coach.
As MS Dhoni hung up his boots as India's ODI and T20 captain, Shastri, in an interview with Wisden India, called Mahi a 'Dada Captain'.
"My salaam to a dada captain,” Shastri was quoted saying.
It is a widely known fact that the nickname 'Dada' is used for former India captain Sourav Ganguly and by using it for Dhoni, Shastri appears to have taken a silent dig at Ganguly.
Talking about Dhoni's timing of leaving the hot seat, Shastri said, “This has given Virat (Kohli) time till the Champions Trophy to prepare for the title defence. MS has won everything there is to win, he really has nothing to prove. Again, the reason I say he has nothing to prove is that he is easily India’s most successful captain, by a distance. There is no one even close to him in that regard. The names that follow in that list a fair distance behind are Kapil Dev, who led India to the World Cup title in 1983 and because of whom we won the Test series in England in 1986. And Ajit (Wadekar) in an era before there was one-day cricket, when we won successive Test series in the West Indies and then England in 1971. And of course, Tiger (Pataudi) for flamboyance. Baaki koi nahi (there is no one else).”
Once again, Shastri mentioned Kapil Dev, Ajit Wadekar and Tiger Pataudi as the other successful captains, behind MS Dhoni and no one else comes near him. Despite Ganguly being considered as one of the finest captains, not just India but the world has seen, Shastri stayed away from mentioning his name.
Ganguly was the man who took charge of Indian cricket team when it in deep trouble following the match-fixing scandals in the early 2000s. The heights Indian cricket team achieved post that, which includes an incredible run to the 2003 World Cup final, had set Ganguly's reputation and India's potential at the absolute summit of the game.
Speaking about Dhoni's decision to quit captaincy, Shastri further added, “The reason I say I am not surprised at this decision is that he is not someone who will chase the seat. He is the kind of guy who will play on his own terms, and this is what his terms are.
“He has obviously given it a lot of thought, though I must admit it must have been a tough decision to make. He has been the captain for so long, it wouldn’t have been easy to make the call that enough was enough. But then again, MS knows that the man in waiting is ready, like he must have felt in Australia when he not just quit the Test captaincy but Test cricket itself. This is a very sensible and wise decision.”
