Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni on Same Page as Leaders: Former India Cricketer Maninder Singh Picks Sourav Ganguly as Best India Skipper

Former India spinner Maninder Singh picked the current Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly as the best skipper to have led India, while he went onto add that former captains Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni are on the same page as leaders.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Maninder – who has represented India in 35 Tests and 49 ODIs between 1982 and 1993 – said it is very important to instill belief in the players and back them.

Maninder also said Dhoni was lucky that Ganguly was there before him who made the players believe that they can beat anyone in any given condition.

“Dhoni was lucky that Kapil Dev won us the World Cup in 1983 then Dhoni was lucky that before him it was Sourav Ganguly, who made us believe that we can beat any team and in any conditions, so Dhoni got that,” said Maninder.

Maninder also said that when Kapil was there the belief was missing.

“When Kapil Dev was the captain that belief was missing. Otherwise, the positivity, the calmness, the captaincy instincts of these two is the same. For me, Kapil and Dhoni are on the same page. If Kapil had somebody else who had won us the world cup before him, then he could also have been a greater captain,” he added.

Hailing Ganguly, Maninder said that the former was a great judge of talent and pulled Yuvraj out of the dumps and got back Harbhajan when he was dropped.

“I loved Ganguly’s captaincy. See what all he has given Indian cricket He was a great judge of talent. He pulled out Yuvraj from the dumps, he got back Harbhajan Singh when he was dropped,” he further said.