‘He has a fantastic cricket brain…’: Former South African great’s BOLD take on Sourav Ganguly’s coaching debut

Ganguly will guide Pretoria Capitals in the fourth edition of the SA20 from this December, and it also marks his foray into the high-pressure world of T20 franchise coaching.

“Ganguly has a fantastic cricket brain. There’s no doubt that he will bring that experience to the fore with Pretoria Capitals. It’s a very good squad that he’s got there and they have such a great fan base as well. We are going to see full houses,” Donald told select Indian media during an interaction facilitated by SA20.

“They’re up there in Pretoria at Supersport Park. They’ve got one of the most well-supported grounds. There’s no question about it. I think the people of Pretoria are expecting and expecting a lot. So, the pressure will be on Sourav for sure. But knowing him, he will come with a great plan,” said Donald.

Donald has first-hand knowledge of Ganguly’s way of operation during his stint with Pune Warriors. Ganguly captained the Warriors in 2012 as Yuvraj Singh was undergoing treatment for cancer.

“I can only talk from a playing point of view when he was captain of Pune Warriors. He strikes me as an extremely calm guy, from his captaincy way back. It’s (coaching) a difficult one for everyone. Jonathan Trott was there very briefly and now Sourav is the man in charge.

“But I just think he’ll bring plenty of experience. He’s been around the game for a very, very long time, not necessarily as a coach. He’s been doing some mentor work with Delhi Capital. So, I think a few players who have been there could have a head start of knowing what he is about.”

With PTI Inputs