File photo: Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly (TOI photo)
New Delhi: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has opened up about the behind-the-scenes battles he fought with the selectors during his captaincy to secure and reshape. Rahul Dravid‘s ODI career, reveals how close the batting legend came to being dropped due to concerns about his strike rate.Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast, Ganguly recalled how Dravid’s place in the ODI team was repeatedly questioned by selectors who believed the team needed more aggressive batting options. The former skipper, however, remained steadfast in his belief that Dravid’s value goes beyond the strike rate numbers.‘Selectors said his strike rate is not good’Ganguly said, “Rahul Dravid… people used to come to me and say his strike rate is not good. Selectors used to say look for someone else in ODIs, ‘marna pacha hai’ (you have to be able to hit).But the former captain revealed that he resisted the pressure, believing that dropping Dravid could have permanently derailed his white-ball career.“But I didn’t let it go. Because ‘let it go’ (if I let it go, it will be gone).Ganguly said he instead worked closely with Dravid to adapt his game to the demands of ODI cricket. “So I used to go up to him separately and tell him, ‘Jam, kahta khelana hai’ (you have to play a bit) and he was such a big player, he adapted. Played at No. 5 for India, keeping wickets.”Rebuilding India’s ODI BalanceGanguly further revealed that Dravid’s evolution into a wicket-keeper batsman was part of a larger strategy, especially in the absence of a true all-rounder.“We needed a wicketkeeper who could bat, and he gave us a chance to play. Muhammad Kaif As an extra batsman,” he explained.The former captain also highlighted how India had to compensate for the lack of all-round options by sharing responsibilities in the batting unit. “We didn’t even really have a proper all-rounder. So Sehwag bowled, Sachin bowled, I bowled, and Yuvi bowled.”According to Ganguly, building a competitive side requires flexibility rather than rigid roles. “To tem ko kila tha na (we had to form a team),” he said.‘Good teams had all-rounders – we had to find solutions’Reflecting on this period, Ganguly emphasized that India’s approach was shaped by necessity as much as by vision.“Good teams had all-rounders and keeper batsmen, which we didn’t have then. So she was necessary to make the team (it was necessary to make the team),” he said.This approach not only prolonged Dravid’s ODI career but also helped India become more flexible in white-ball cricket, laying the foundation for a more dynamic unit in the years that followed.Ganguly’s revelations highlight how behind-the-scenes strategic decisions and internal debates played a role in shaping India’s most balanced ODI era — and how the willingness to back players like Dravid helped redefine roles long before modern cricket demanded them.
