Transcript: Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly banter on commentary

Harsha Bhogle, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly

When the Indian bowlers were struggling to dismiss Joe Root and James Anderson on day 4 of the 1st Test between England and India, former Indian cricketers-turned-commentators Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly showed their funny side as they poked fun at each other in the commentary box in the presence of Harsha Bhogle.

The conversation started with the southpaw stating that he played a big part as a bowler in India’s series win in England in 2007 under the captaincy of Dravid, which led to a comparison of Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly’s bowling statistics from the 2007 series showing up on the screen.

Here are the excerpts:

Dravid: I was just trying to figure out how many overs I gave to Tendulkar and Ganguly (in 2007). Maybe I under bowled Ganguly there, but Sachin had more Test wickets.

Ganguly: He (Dravid) always did that.

Bhogle: Tendulkar has more Test wickets than Ganguly.

Ganguly: That’s because he (Tendulkar) bowled half his overs on turning pitches in India.

Bhogle: I like how you (Ganguly) are sticking to your territory.

Ganguly: Those turning pitches on day 5 in India. Those dust bowls. I wish I knew how to bowl a little bit of spin. That’s on flat batting pitches. On good pitches where you needed skill, look at the economy (2.3 rpo in 2007). I did the perfect 5th bowler’s job.

Dravid: Sanjay Manjekar made a really good point in the commentary box. If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.

Ganguly: I wish I was Prime Minister of India. I could have done a whole lot of things.

Bhogle: I almost feel like not getting into this conversation. I’m getting away, this is some serious sledging. Come on Rahul, don’t be a good boy here.

Ganguly: Ask Rahul Dravid. When he won the toss at Trent Bridge in 2007 in our famous Test series win, England were going at almost 6 an over who did he fall back to?

Dravid: I’m not denying that. I’m absolutely not denying that. I just made the point that if Ganguly didn’t get tired after 5-6 overs, I would have bowled him much longer spells.

Ganguly: I would request the production team to get the spell out and we need a judgement here.

Dravid: Don’t forget the speeds as well.

Ganguly: I bowled 10 overs on the trot for 1/15. I’ve seen biased people, but I’ve not seen as much.

Bhogle: One thing you got to admit Rahul, he (Ganguly) does know his numbers.

Dravid: I’ve never doubted that. His numbers and the numbers of any left-handed batsman in the world, Sourav knows.

Ganguly: He (Dravid) must have been happy that he had a player with intensity in his team. A player who cared for the numbers and the game. That’s what you look for as a captain.

Bhogle: I think there’s a reason he (Dravid) under bowled you (Ganguly). As a captain, you made him keep wickets.

Dravid: No Bhogle, don’t needle.

Ganguly: He (Dravid) did a job for the team and I desperately needed him to do that. We became a better team after that.