“I went for Ganguly because I wanted him to be the captain of my side”: When Shane Warne picked Sourav Ganguly as captain of his greatest Indian XI

In 2020, Shane Warne picked his greatest Indian XI on Instagram, and he chose Sourav Ganguly as the captain of the side.

Shane Warne is arguably one of the greatest players to ever play the game. He was the first bowler in the world to claim 700 test wickets. He ended his career with 708 test wickets, whereas he has 293 ODI wickets under his belt. Warne also bowled the “Ball of the Century” in the 1993 Ashes.

Apart from his on-field records, Warne has had a lot of controversies throughout his career. He failed the drug test ahead of the 2003 World Cup. Warne even passed on the critical information to a bookmaker about the game. He has also been in a rift with Muttiah Muralitharan, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Waugh.  Despite all the off-field controversies, Warne is hugely admired in the cricketing circuit.

Shane Warne picks Sourav Ganguly as captain of Indian Greatest XI

During 2020, the Covid lockdowns were at their peak, and Instagram live sessions were a trend between cricketers. Shane Warne then picked his greatest Indian XI of all time. He picked Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Siddhu as his openers, and he also had his reasons.

“I had to pick Navjot Singh Sidhu because he was the best player against spin I have ever played against, all the other spinners I have played with, they have also told me that Siddhu was brilliant against them,” Warne said on Instagram.

#OnThisDay in 1992, legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne made his Test debut against India in Sydney, and the rest is history! pic.twitter.com/6afV2IXSRJ

— ICC (@ICC) January 2, 2020

Shane Warne also picked Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in the middle-order. However, the most notable absentee was VVS Laxman, who had a brilliant record against Australia. Shane Warne said that he wants Sourav Ganguly as captain that’s why he needed to drop VVS Laxman.

“Dravid became a friend over the years, I got to know him during a stint with Rajasthan Royals, he made plenty of hundreds against us,” he added.

“I went for Ganguly because I wanted him to be the captain of my side, that is why VVS Laxman missed out,” he added.

Shane Warne said that he did not pick MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the side because he did not play much against them.

Warne’s greatest Indian XI: Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammed Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly (c), Kapil Dev, Harbhajan Singh, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath.