Best captains of India: No Sourav Ganguly in Ravi Shastri's list but Murali praises 'dada'

Kolkata, Jan 9: Refusing to get drawn into a controversy, Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan today (January 9) said Ravi Shastri may have just "missed" Sourav Ganguly's name while compiling his list of India's all-time best captains.

Shastri lashes out at Ganguly; Gambhir attacks 'desperate' Shastri

"Definitely Ganguly did a great job for Indian cricket after he took over. In my opinion he's a great captain," Murali, the spin bowling consultant of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Vision 2020 programme, said here.

The former Indian team director termed Dhoni a 'dada captain' and omitted Ganguly's name from his list of best Indian skippers in an interview to a website.

Shastri and Ganguly share a volatile relationship and traded several blows in full public view after the legendary Anil Kumble was appointed coach of the Indian cricket team last year.

Shastri, who has been a firm backer of Dhoni in the past, added that the timing of the wicketkeeper-batsman's decision was perfect.

Muralitharan said, "It's all about opinions and everyone has one. Maybe he has missed Ganguly but I can't speak for him."

Ganguly took charge of the Indian cricket team when it was struggling with match-fixing scandals in the early 2000s and then took it to great heights.

Under Ganguly, India won Test matches abroad on a consistent basis while making the final of World Cup in 2003.

PTI