New Delhi: Two years after Australia missed out on reaching the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship Final due to being penalised for slow over-rate, the Pat Cummins-led side won the marquee tournament with a comprehensive 209-run win over India in the 2023 finale at The Oval. Many believed this would be India's time to end the decade-long drought of the ICC Trophy but Rohit Sharma and company's collapse disappointed all and that's why it shocked everyone when Sourav Ganguly said that winning an IPL trophy is much more difficult in comparison to winning an ICC Title. "I have full faith on Rohit. He and MS Dhoni have won 5 IPL titles. Winning the IPL isn’t easy because it’s a tough tournament. Winning the IPL is more difficult than winning a World Cup as there are 14 matches after which you take part in the playoffs. In the World Cup, it takes only 4-5 matches for a place in the semis. In the IPL, it takes 17 matches for you to become champions," said Ganguly in a conversation with India Today. Ganguly also backed Rohit as there best bet to end India's ICC Trophy drought. He said, "The selectors needed a captain after Virat left and Rohit was the best that time. He had won 5 IPL trophies and done well at the international level as well; he won the Asia Cup. He was the best option. India also played in the final of the Test championship, although we lost," "Even two years ago, we lost the WTC final. We reached the semis of the T20 World Cup. So, the selectors picked that person who was the best for the job," he added.
Salman Butt Reacts To Sourav Ganguly's Remark
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt reacted to Ganguly's comparison on his YouTube channel and expressed how shocked he was after hearing the remark from Indian cricketing icon. He said "I didn't expect a world-class player and a captain to say something like this. How can you compare league cricket with Test (and international) cricket? There's no comparison. You're comparing the ultimate format of cricket with the shortest format where only four international players are in a team? There's no comparison."