Former India player Mohammad Kaif believes that the Kolkata Knight Riders would have won three or four IPL trophies had they backed their former captain Sourav Ganguly for longer as well. However, Ganguly led KKR in IPL 2008. The team made a stunning debut against RCB under his captaincy but failed to qualify for the semifinals as well. In 2009, Brendon McCullum replaced Ganguly as the captain. While KKR failed to progress again, Ganguly was retained as the captain for the 2010 season as well.
However, in 2011, KKR released Ganguly prior to the IPL Auction. The southpaw remained unsold before joining Pune Warriors as a replacement. The Warriors appointed Ganguly as their skipper, but the veteran Indian player was past his best of form and could not make much of an impact too. In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda Cricket, Mohammad Kaif was asked who the best captain to have never won the IPL trophy was to which Kaif said:
“I think it has to be Sourav Ganguly. He did not have a long captaincy career in the IPL, but I have played under his leadership. If he captained more, he would have helped KKR become the champions because he is a master at man management. In my opinion, Sourav Ganguly did not get enough opportunities to lead a team in the IPL. T20 cricket was new back then, and he was trying to understand how things work. If he got more chances, suppose if he led KKR in 4-5 or maybe 8 seasons, Ganguly would have helped KKR win 3-4 IPL trophies.”
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer also asked the same question, to which he picked two former Kolkata Knight Riders captains – Sourav Ganguly and Eoin Morgan.
“Out of all the people, I would say Sourav Ganguly. I don’t think he captained much in the IPL, but he was one of those players who took Indian cricket to a whole new level,” Jaffer said.”Eoin Morgan is also such a good captain. I rate him very highly as a captain. He played a huge role in England cricket’s transformation, and he has not been able to win an IPL trophy also. So, I would say Ganguly and Eoin Morgan,” he further added.
While Sourav Ganguly could never take his team to the Top 4, Morgan helped KKR end IPL 2021 as the runners-up as well. Both players have retired now, while Sourav Ganguly is a member of Delhi Capitals franchise, Morgan works as a commentator.
