T20 WC 2024 | "Play with freedom": Ganguly backs India ahead of the final vs SA

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said Rohit Sharmas leadership qualities played a crucial role in the Men in Blue unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup 2024 Also ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 finals against South Africa Ganguly urged Indian players to play with freedom to end their 11year ICC trophy droughtTeam India will lock horns with the Proteas at Bridgetown Barbados for the T20 World Cup 2024 title and will be eyeing their first global trophy since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013Im very happy for Rohit Sharma Life comes full circle Six months ago he was not even the captain of Mumbai Indians and the same man is now leading India to a World Cup final unbeaten Ganguly said here after being roped in as the brand ambassador of VeedolAfter Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy Rohit was hesitating to take up the captaincy role revealed GangulyHe has played two World Cup finals where he has gone into the final unbeaten That speaks of his captaincy and leadership quality and Im not surprised because he became captain when I was the BCCI president and when Virat didnt want to captain India anymoreAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 IND vs SA Players to score the most runsIt took a lot of time to make him captain because he was not ready to captain It took a lot of pushing from all of us to make him captain and Im very happy to see the progress of Indian cricket under himGanguly said winning IPL titles could sometimes be more challenging because of the duration of the tournament Rohit has the record of winning five IPL titles which is a huge achievement Winning an IPL sometimes is more difficult Dont misquote me Im not saying IPL is better than international cricketBut you have to win 1617 1213 matches to win an IPL here you need to win 89 matches to win a World Cup The honour is more in winning the World Cup and I hope Rohit does it tomorrowI dont think he can lose two World Cup finals in seven six months He will probably jump into the Barbados ocean if he loses two finals under his captaincy in seven months He has led from the front batted brilliantly and I hope it continues tomorrow Hope India finishes on the right side and they should play with freedomThey have been the best side of the competition I wish them luck I wish they win Hope they have a little bit of luck tomorrow because that is required to win big tournaments Ganguly addedSince their Champions Trophy victory India has reached the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup the 2023 50over World Cup and the WTC final twice without winning any of themI look at it differently At least we are getting to the finals we can only win once we get to the final he saidThe positive thing is India is not getting eliminated Secondly they are dominating You saw the World Cup in India seven months ago they were the best side in the competition although they lost to Australia in the finalAlso ReadT20 World Cup 2024 IND vs SA Previous faceoffs topscorers highest totalsThey were a better side than Australia right through the tournament they just had one bad day he pointed outGanguly said its a huge moment for South African cricket to enter their maiden World Cup final 32 years after their return to international cricketIts a huge moment for South African cricket Imagine a team that came back to international cricket in 1992 and it took them 32 years to play in a World Cup final So its going to be a big day for both teams he saidPremier batsman Virat Kohli is struggling to score runs in the T20 World Cup 2024 Following this Ganguly feels that he should continue playing in that positionVirat should continue to open He just had a World Cup of 700 runs seven months ago He is human Sometimes he will also fail and you have to accept itPeople like Kohli Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid they are institutions for Indian cricket Threefour matches dont make them weaker players Dont rule him out in the final tomorrow added GangulyFormer England cricketer Michael Vaughan has opposed the ICC to favour India for providing them spinfriendly pitches in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinalVaughan also accused broadcasters of giving India a favourable time slot of 8 pm IST in all their matches Dismissing such claims Ganguly said Michael Vaughan is a very dear friend of mine I dont know how ICC helps India win cricket matches by keeping the broadcast at 8 pm IST in the evening I dont know how broadcasting wins you cricket matches You still have to play in the middle and winSecondly I dont know why Guyana is thought to be a venue for winning when they have gone around and won everywhereGanguly underlined his point by saying that Indias consistent onfield performance makes it a dominant forceYes India are a dominant force in world cricket by its performance by its broadcast and by the money it brings to the tableYou know if you own 80 percent of a companys shares you will get more dividends and profits than others Its the rule of life India are the same he saidWith PTI Inputs