Sourav Ganguly was the best person to lead India in the late 90s, reckons Chandu Borde

Former India cricketer and manager Chandu Borde has praised current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly for his impressive leadership qualities during the tough phase Indian cricket had to endure in the late 90s.

In a live chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, Borde discussed the qualities that helped Ganguly claim the dreaded captaincy role at the time.

The 85-year-old added that Sourav Ganguly's vision and dynamic personality helped him achieve his feats as a leader. He said:

"He [Sourav Ganguly] doesn't get carried away. He is always thinking ...He tried to do something different all the time. You can see he is thinking ahead all the time."

"Looking closely at the domestic tournaments, we thought Ganguly was the best person to lead the Indian team."

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Sourav Ganguly's record as Indian captain

Ganguly (C) with Yuvraj Singh (L) and Mohammad Kaif (R) after winning the 2002 NatWest Trophy

Sourav Ganguly's captaincy record speaks for itself. In 49 Tests as captain of the Indian team, he won 21 matches, lost 13 and drew 15. In ODIs, he led the country 147 times, winning 76 and losing 66 of those matches.

However, there is more to his leadership role than just the numbers. During the controversial match-fixing allegations against certain heavyweights of the Indian team, Dada took on the role of a resurrector and helped India reestablish its image as a serious cricketing nation.

Sourav Ganguly introduced the world to players like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. Along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and coach John Wright, he played a pivotal role in taking India to great heights.

Some of his greatest achievements as a captain in the limited-overs format include winning the NatWest Trophy against England in a dramatic final in 2002 and ending the 2003 WC in South Africa as the runners-up with a young and energetic team.