Sourav Ganguly opens up on India’s decision to drop Ishan Kishan for first ODI against Sri Lanka

Opinions were divided on Ishan Kishan‘s absence from the Indian ODI squad following his world record double century, but former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes the swashbuckling keeper-batter must wait for his “time” because Shubman Gill has done nothing wrong.

On December 10, against Bangladesh in Chattogram, the left-handed batter made history by scoring 210 runs off 131 balls, becoming the youngest  and fastest player in ODI history. “I’m sure he (Kishan) will get his chance. His time will come,” the former Indian Cricket Board president said.

Kishan’s knock, however, did not guarantee him a place in India’s next ODI, as he was replaced by designated India opener Shubman Gill in Tuesday’s three-match series opener against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Many former cricketers, including Venkatesh Prasad, criticised Team India’s decision to leave Kishan out of the Guwahati ODI, but Ganguly remained silent.

“I don’t know… It’s difficult for me to say. In India, we have too many opinions, let (head coach) Rahul Dravid and (skipper) Rohit Sharma decide. People who actually play the game should actually decide who’s the best,” Ganguly said on the sidelines of a promotional event for Ajanta Shoes.

Kohli hit his 45th ODI century in Guwahati and remains four short of Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 49 hundred. When asked to compare Virat and Sachin, Ganguly said that it was difficult to compare the two.

“It’s a difficult question to answer. Kohli is a fantastic player. He’s played many such innings, 45 hundreds don’t happen like this. He’s a special talent. There will be periods when he will not score, but he’s a special player,” he said.

We will do the best: Sourav Ganguly on Rishabh Pant

In the meantime, Rishabh Pant is still recovering from his accident and will be unavailable to lead Delhi in the Indian T20 League this season. “We will do the best with whatever team we will have,” Ganguly, who will be back with the IPL franchise’s think tank after a three-year break, said.

“Every time there’s a challenge, we had a different team in 2019. I was not there for three years and we’ll try to do well this time,” he concluded.