T20 is must for game of cricket: Ganguly

Highlighting the importance of the 20-overs format, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said that the shortest format is needed for the survival of the game of cricket.

New Delhi: Highlighting the importance of the 20-overs format, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly said that the shortest format is needed for the survival of the game of cricket.

"Twenty20 is must for cricket. Without T-20, cricket cannot survive," Ganguly was answering a question on the overkill of cricket right now and the issue of players burnout.

The 45-year-old was all praises for Virat Kohli & Co. as they showed enough resilience to bounce back from 2-1 Test series defeat and thrash the hosts 5-1 in the ODI rubber.

“It has been a good tour for them so far. The Indian team lost the Test series 1-2 before bouncing back to clinch the one-dayers 5-1.”

"I hope they win the match (T20) on Saturday," Ganguly said referring to the tour-ending T20 International.

Ganguly laid the foundation of the Indian team by providing opportunities to young talent and he sees current Indian skipper Virat Kohli doing the same which he feels will benefit the team in future.

"We have Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya and others have come in to play in our Indian side. We have to give them time to become the likes of Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh," he said.

"Sehwag and Harbhajan also developed over a period of time. Our young players will also do so," he added.

Speaking about Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who struck a 28-ball 52 in the previous T20, Ganguly said, "Dhoni is very good in one-day matches and in T-20. It is very hard to get past MS."

"You have got to respect the contribution made by him and others too will get an opportunity to shine."