When I See, Rohit And Virat’s Wives In Stands…”: Sourav Ganguly’s Blunt Remark On “Pressure

With the T20 World Cup 2024 set to begin, Indian cricketers are likely to find themselves in an extreme pressure situation again, with the task of ending the long and excruciating ICC trophy drought hovering over their heads. Cricket remains the most passionate game for Indians, and emotions go through the roof whenever the Indian team in playing in a World Cup. Sourav Ganguly, one of India’s most successful captains, feels Rahul Dravid and his team need to opt for a more relaxed approach to succeed in the T20 World Cup.

In a chat on Revsportz, Ganguly feels India make the mistake of ‘pushing too much’, which is often visible if one looks at the wives of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“If I can say something to Rahul [Dravid] and, make no mistake, he is a champion cricketer and cricket brain, it will be to relax a little. When I see Rohit’s wife in the stands, it is evident how much pressure she is under. When I see Virat’s wife, I see the kind of pressure she is feeling. We in India make this mistake of pushing too much. I think back to the 2003 [World Cup] final, for example. If anything, we need to relax when we are playing the big games. Just play with freedom,” he said.

India reached the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 where they were beaten by Australia in the final. Ganguly feels the team might have done better had they remain more relaxed in the title clash.

“In the 2023 World Cup, despite losing the final, I will say India was the best team. We played some fantastic cricket right through the competition. If only we could be a little relaxed for the final. That’s what I want to see. That we play with freedom, but also don’t put too much pressure on ourselves,” he asserted.