Sourav Ganguly seems to be the favourite with former captains © Getty Images

After Wasim Akram expressed his support for the beleaguered Sourav Ganguly a few days ago, it was the turn today of Arjuna Ranatunga, the former Sri Lankan skipper, to express a similar opinion and support Ganguly's retention as India's captain until the next World Cup in 2007.

''He is too good a player to be axed. He is a very positive captain. I feel that he is one of India's best captains I have played against,'' Ranatunga told the Khaleej Times. "He is a very cocky and positive captain. I am not saying that others are bad. But this guy has performed. For the last couple of months he has been going through a bad patch. Everything has been going against him, including the slow over-rate thing. He is just having a bad run, a bad patch which most of the top cricketers have gone through."

Ranatunga, who led his team to World Cup victory in 1996, compared the current Indian batting line-up to his side then. "[Rahul] Dravid, [Sachin] Tendulkar, Ganguly and Virender Sehwag - that's a very, very strong batting line-up with Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh for the next World Cup," he continued. "I tell you that is more like my 1996 batting line-up. Actually it is much better than my 1996 World Cup batting line-up. If they can protect these players and go till the 2007 World Cup, I will not be surprised if India wins."

Ranatunga also urged the Indian board to back Ganguly during his batting slump. "This is the time for the team, the board and the entire country, including the media, to support and back him," he said. "Give him some time to recover. I tell you he is a top cricketer and needs just one good innings. I am sure Ganguly will do a great job [as captain] when he returns."