Virender Sehwag claims Sourav Ganguly ‘built and backed his team’ better than Virat Kohli

Former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag spent the majority of his career under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly and World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni. While Sehwag may have retired from the game, the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' continues to make headlines, either with his analysis or bold opinions.

In the latest episode of Sports18's show ‘Home of Heroes’, the 2011 World Cup winner made a startling judgment over two of India's finest Test captains, Sourav Ganguly and Virat Kohli. According to Sehwag, Ganguly was the one who 'built a new team, brought in new players and backed them through highs and lows'.

Viru 'not sure' if Kohli backed his team like Sourav Ganguly

A 104-Test veteran, Sehwag, praised the captaincy style of the cricketer-turned-administrator. He was of the opinion that the best captain is the one who builds a team and gives confidence to his players.

While expressing 'doubt' if Virat had done the same with his team during his captaincy tenure, Sehwag said that Kohli did 'back some players’ but 'some he did not'.

Dada and Virat's captaincy records

During his 49-Test leadership career, Ganguly propelled India to 21 wins, including wins in England, Australia, and Pakistan. His tally was the highest by any Indian captain at the time (later bettered by Dhoni and Kohli).

But more importantly, players like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Sehwag flourished under Ganguly's captaincy and became the pillars of Indian cricket.

On the other hand, Kohli had a better track record in Tests, with 40 wins out of 68 matches. The mercurial batsman also led India to its first-ever series win in Australia. But, much like ‘Dada’, the batting maverick also backed an entire gallery of speedsters, including Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav.

After a series defeat in South Africa, Kohli finally relinquished his Test captaincy earlier this year.