‘I didn’t drop him because…’: Ganguly reveals how he fought selectors for Dravid, reshaped India’s ODI squad

File Pic: Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly (TOI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has opened up about the behind-the-scenes battles he waged with selectors during his captaincy to protect and reshape Rahul Dravid’s ODI career, revealing how close the batting legend came to being dropped over concerns about his strike rate.Speaking on the Raj Shamani podcast, Ganguly recalled how Dravid’s place in the ODI side was repeatedly questioned by selectors who believed the team needed more aggressive batting options. However, the former captain stood firm in his belief that Dravid’s value goes far beyond the strike numbers.“Selectors said his strike rate is not good”“Rahul Dravid… people used to come to me and say his strike rate is not good. The selectors said to look for someone else in ODIs, ‘marna padta hai’ (you have to be able to hit),” Ganguly said.But the former captain revealed that he resisted the pressure and was convinced that Dravid’s ouster could have permanently derailed his white-ball career.“But I didn’t drop him. Because ‘chhod diya toh khatam ho jayega’ (if I let him go, he would have finished),” he added.Ganguly said he instead worked closely with Dravid to adapt his game to the demands of ODI cricket. “So I used to go to him separately and tell him, ‘Jam, thoda khelna hai’ (you have to play a bit). And he was such a great player, he adapted. He played at number five for India, he kept wickets.”Restoring India’s ODI balanceGanguly further revealed that Dravid’s evolution as a wicketkeeper-batsman was part of a wider strategy to balance the side, especially in the absence of a true all-rounder.“We needed a wicketkeeper who could bat and that allowed us to play Mohammad Kaif as an extra batsman,” he explained.The former captain also highlighted how India had to compensate for the lack of all-rounders by sharing the responsibility across the batting unit. “We didn’t even have a proper all-rounder. So Sehwag bowled, Sachin bowled, me and Yuvi bowled.”According to Ganguly, building a competitive side required flexibility rather than rigid roles. “Toh team ko banana tha na (we had to build a team),” he said.“Good teams had jack-of-all-trades – we had to create solutions”Reflecting on this era, Ganguly emphasized that India’s approach was shaped by necessity as much as by vision.“Good teams had all-rounders and goalkeepers, which we didn’t have at that time. Toh woh zaroori tha team banane ke liye (that was necessary to build a team),” he said.This approach not only extended 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 to come.Ganguly’s revelations highlight how tactical decisions and internal debates behind the scenes played a key role in shaping one of India’s most balanced ODI eras – and how a willingness to back players like Dravid helped redefine roles long before modern cricket required it.

Should selectors prioritize batting numbers over experience when evaluating players like Rahul Dravid?