"This is the best I have seen him bat in Test cricket" - Sourav Ganguly's massive praise for Indian star amid ENG vs IND 2025 series

Former captain Sourav Ganguly heaped massive praise on Indian star Shubman Gill amid the ongoing series against England. India are in England for a five-Test series. The fourth match began on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester. Gill is in solid form in the ongoing series.

In a conversation with former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the 'Beyond23 Cricket Podcast', Sourav Ganguly expressed that this is the best he has seen of Shubman Gill in Test cricket.

"This is the best you must have seen Shubman Gill playing Test cricket. This is the first time away from home, he has shown great defense. This is the best I have seen him bat in Test cricket. This is his position. He is a middle-order player," he said. (13:07)

The right-hander has scored 619 runs from seven innings so far with an average of 88.42, with three hundreds, including a double hundred.

In the first innings of the fourth Test, he was dismissed for 12 runs off 23 balls. The Indian captain will be keen to bounce back with a big score in the second innings in Manchester.

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Sourav Ganguly opens up on dealing differently with players as captain

Speaking of captaincy, Sourav Ganguly revealed how he dealt differently with different players during his tenure. Citing an example of Sachin Tendulkar, he expressed how he had to relax the batter given the expectations under which he played.

"They were all different personalities and I mixed with as their personality. I was never an imposing person and I am still not. I let people be. Sachin didn't want to captain but was a leader in that squad. I had to work with him differently. I had to make him relax because every time he walked out India wanted him to play exceedingly well and that is not possible," he said. (6:44)

Further, Sourav Ganguly also recalled how he had to accommodate Rahul Dravid when he was not doing well in ODI cricket. Ganguly gave him a specific role in the format, making him bat in the middle-order around the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.

"Then Dravid came in. I understood his sentiments. He wasn't able to make a mark in one-day cricket so I realized that to make him play well in Test cricket I had to accommodate him in one-day cricket. I gave him a role in one-day cricket at number five to finish because he was never a big-hitter. I made him bat around guys like Yuvraj and Kaif who were boundary hitters so it took the pressure off both of them. I dealt with everybody differently," he added.

Sourav Ganguly is regarded for his captaincy and for bringing about a revolution in Indian cricket. The team took a fearless approach under him and transformed the way they played. He recalled how beating Australia in the famous Eden Gardens Test in 2001 gave them the confidence and belief as a team.

"I remember winning the Test match at Eden Gardens (against Aus). We were asked to follow on and that was a god gifted Test match. That was the turning point of Indian cricket, beating Australia because they were so good. I remember Harbhajan Singh telling me we got everybody out and now I see Adam Gilchrist coming in. That's how strong the team was. When you played that Australia, it was also a question of understanding how good you were. If you play well against them, if you beat them then the confidence went up, your belief went up, your belief in your ability went up. After that win, we were a different team," Sourav Ganguly stated.

The change has delivered significant results. In 2018, India beat Australia in a Test series down under, registering their first-ever Test series victory on Australian soil. They repeated the feat in 2021. India are 1-2 down in the current series against England, but will be hopeful of coming back strong.