Ganguly made India a tough team - Nasser Hussain

After England's ignominious exit in the 1999 World Cup played at home, Nasser Hussain was appointed as the new captain of the national side. Hussain, born in Chennai, went on to resurrect the fortunes of England by piloting them to Test series wins in Pakistan and Sri Lanka alongside success at home. Hussain was known for his tactical nous and also under him, England played with determination and loads of self belief.

Speaking to Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz in Conversation, the former England skipper talked about his favourite captains in the modern era, managing star players, the role played by Sourav Ganguly in helping India to become a 'tough' team and more.

In modern day limited overs cricket, batsmen are ready to take more risks by playing innovative shots. As most of the batsmen play with freedom, the bowlers find themselves under severe pressure. So, Hussain pointed out that in limited overs cricket, the leader of the side has to stay calm under chaos. He also picked Eoin Morgan, who piloted England to their maiden 50-over World Cup triumph, as his favourite white-ball captain going around.

Hussain, who also praised Virat Kohli for changing the culture of the Indian side in relation to fitness, named Kane Williamson as a great ambassador of the game of cricket.

"There are so many (good captains). Captaincy is about ticking various boxes. My best white ball captain would be Eoin Morgan, not just because he won the World Cup, but he is calm, whenever there is chaos. White ball cricket is now chaos. The batsmen now smash everyone, everywhere. My favourite white ball captain, the best white ball captain would be Morgan.

"In red ball cricket, there are so many boxes to be ticked. I think the way Kohli has driven India, you know their fitness, change in culture, and their winning mentality is all down to Kohli. But if you're asking me who is my favourite, and one of the reasons you give, ambassador of the game... Kane Williamson is just... for the resources New Zealand have, their record at home, I mean India found out recently, England found out, their record at home is phenomenal. Their record as a nation playing cricket is phenomenal.

"The image of Kane when he got to know after the World Cup final, you're the player of the tournament and he turns to the ladies and the ICC and 'me ah' that sort of self-depreciating' are you sure I'm the player of the tournament'. I think Kane Williamson, the way he handles himself, is a great ambassador of our game," he added.

With so much cricket being played around the globe, some sides have tried to look at the option of appointing different captains for the longest and shorter versions of the game. Hussain shared his views about whether split captaincy could be implemented from India's perspective. He also observed that split coaches could be an option.

"It depends on the character, Virat (Kohli) is such an imposing character, all encompassing, it would be difficult for him to hand over, he wouldn't want to hand anything over. Whereas with England, we have Morgan and Root, two likable, laidback (characters). I think more importantly it would be about coaching, Coaches have so much to do, whether you should have a split coach, they have so much on their plate. Just to give you a fresh perspective like Trevor Bayliss for example: he cracked white ball for England, we didn't really crack Test match cricket. So maybe two different coaches would be the right way to go."

Captaincy isn't just about showcasing tactical nous, but also having good man-management skills. Hussain noted that it is about striking a fine balance between giving a bit of 'leeway to your superstars' and also ensuring that they buy into the team's culture and goals. "Very difficult, that is a good question again, because they have to...in the end buy into what the team is trying to achieve. You got to remember cricket is a team game, but it is also an individual game. When you're playing for the two, who do you want to send out of the door? The goody two shoes who is doing all the right things for the team and is a lovely lad, boy or girl, or do you want Kevin Pietersen or whoever, someone with a bit of fight, bit of character.

"David Gower, the maverick... greats in life, great people don't buy into what the team is doing, whether it is Lara, Warne, Botham, Pietersen... the list is endless of people who do things differently. That is what makes them great sportsmen, great cricketers. So, you have to give them a bit of leeway, The book I got back here somewhere, Mike Brearley's Art of captaincy. Brearley's handling of Botham, just let him think that he was in charge, 'you do what you want Beefy'. It is just a case that you have to give your superstars a bit of leeway, but you want them to be a part of the team, they must buy into the team as well," he added.

Hussain also commended Sourav Ganguly for making India a 'tough' team. He observed that before Ganguly took over leadership duties, India had fantastic players, but were known as a nice side. "Before Sourav, India was a nice team, great players, Azhar, Javagal Srinath, they had some fantastic players, but before Sourav, they were a nice team. Very sort of 'good morning, how you doing', you know a bit like you Harsha to be honest (light-hearted tone), very nice (and) pleasant. Ganguly made them a tough team. Waiting for the toss for Ganguly, it is half past 10, 10.31 in England, 'where is Ganguly'? Steve Waugh, me, everyone (light-hearted tone)."

When asked about his favourite cricketers in the current era, Hussain picked out KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He talked about Kohli's ability to pace the innings in a run-chase and the dollops of skills possessed by Rohit and Rahul to make batting look easy.

"I mean there are a lot, (among Indians) two of them are very obvious. Virat Kohlli, if there is a run chase on, wherever I'm in the world, I would be broadcasting somewhere else, West Indies or something, a word would come that India are chasing 300, and I will be looking Kohli 60 not out, Kohli 70 not out and it is almost like setting an alarm clock, Kohli 130, India win. The other two, KL Rahul is just unbelievable, how easy he makes batting look, at times how far he can hit a ball with sort of minimal effort. And the other one for me is Rohit. I sent a tweet out when India were in South Africa, I think they left out Rohit, I said, "if Rohit isn't a Test match player, I'm watching a different game of cricket", because Rohit should be able to crack Test match cricket. And the way Rohit has gone recently, long may it continue."

For more such stories from Nasser Hussain, tune in to Part 1 and Part 2 of the latest Cricbuzz in Conversation episode