New Delhi: One of the main architects of India's achievement of the number one Test spot has beenSourav Gangulyho was part of a generation of immensely talented players like Vvs & Dravid. The former India captain spoke to CNN-IBN about this proud moment and the turning point of Indian cricket.
Sourav Ganguly : It's great to see the Indian team as the number one team in the world. It's an achievement achieved by a lot of players over the five years. The current team deserves a lot of credit because they have taken the team from number two to the number one position. And congratulations to Dhoni and all the boys who have been part of the team since 2001.
CNN-IBN: It was a very troubled time for Indian cricket when you took over captaincy. India was trying to shrug off the allegations of match fixing. How difficult was it for you?
Sourav Ganguly : I was made captain of a very young side and I had some great players like Rahul (Dravid), Anil (Kumble), Sachin (Tendulkar) and VVS (Laxman) who were much younger at that stage and had already made a mark in international cricket. John Wright deserves a lot of credit for turning things around. Then we had players like Zaheer (Khan), (Virender) Sehwag and Harbhajan (Singh), who after nine years have become outstanding match-winners themselves.
CNN-IBN: India still have won 32 Tests abroad and 11 of them have been when you, Rahul, Sachin and Anil have played together. Does that give you a great sense of pride?
Sourav : We started our careers when we all got together. We wanted to make a change playing overseas and when I started a career in 1996, I could see in the body language of the foreign teams that they considered India as a soft team. It's good that the current bunch has done well consistently overseas.
CNN-IBN: What was the turning point of Indian cricket?
Sourav : I think the Test match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001, which we won turned things around. We went and won in Trinidad in the West Indies next year and then in England. We kept winning from thereon and also won ODIs overseas. So I think that (the Eden Gardens Test against Australia) gave us the belief that we could win. 
Courtesy : CNN-IBN
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