Ganguly thrives under pressure: Rajput

New Delhi: Former India coach Lalchand Rajput says Sourav Ganguly would be thriving to perform well under pressure when India start their four-Test series against Australia.

Rajput said his failures in India A's match against New Zealand A won't mean too much coming into the Tests as it was a "different ball game altogether".

Lalchand Rajput: There will be pressure because Ganguly was brought back into the team after not being picked for the Irani Trophy. But now that he is in the team, and he had a practice game against New Zealand A where he couldn't get runs, there will be pressure on him.

But as he has done before, his comebacks have been very good. I'm sure he must be hoping that this comeback is also equally good. But Test matches are a different ball game and these are great players who really perform on big occasions.

CNN-IBN: Not just with his own failure but with the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh making runs, will Ganguly feel under even greater pressure, not just to make runs, but also to keep his place?

Lalchand Rajput: I think the players who have performed have got a claim. But I still feel that they have to perform consistently over a period of time. I know Virat Kohli from his Under-19 days and he has been doing very well. And so has Rohit Sharma, but his hundred against the Australians was only his second in first-class cricket.

There are others also who have been pushing really hard for their places, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj who got a brilliant hundred (against Australians), Badrinath.

There will be pressure on Ganguly because these players have been performing. But when you play at the international level, there will always be pressure on you. He knows how to handle pressure, he has done it in the past, so I don't see any reason why he can't handle it now.

CNN-IBN: Do you think Ganguly can find form against such a strong bowling attack? After all, he had a poor series in Sri Lanka too, so it won't be easy against the likes of Lee and company.

Lalchand Rajput: They (seniors including Ganguly) have played more than 100 Test matches. They are rhythm players. Once they get into the flow, then it comes automatically to them because their foot position, hand-eye coordination fall into place. So the first 15 minutes will be very crucial when Ganguly comes in to bat. If he starts hitting the ball well, I think he will automatically get his form back.

I have always believed that form is temporary, class is permanent. These are class players who have played with distinction for a number of years. So they will be looking for that one good knock or one good spell to take them through.