June 1996,Mecca of cricket,Lords,London:Against the likes of Cork,Mullalay,Martin a bespectacled,exuberant youngster from Calcutta who had been written off by cricket pundits after an inauspicious debut in 1992 cracked a phenomenal century on a chill,windy,biting morning at the United Kingdom.
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly had announced his arrival at the world stage.
Twelve years later,in a routine press conference at Bangalore:
"Just one last thing lads, before I leave. I just want to say that this is going to be my last series. I have decided to quit."These were the words used by a mature Sourav Ganguly which shook the roots of Indian Cricket.The choice of words was tantalising,he said 'Quit' instead of 'Retire'.That in itself reflects the lone battle he was waging with the never ending BCCI politics.
Lets play the numbers game;
400 matches,18000 runs,37 centuries ,150 wickets,a healthy average of over 40 and 1 bad series was all it took for the axe to fall on his head.When the whole of Fabulous Four fail against the mystic spin of Mendis and Muralitharan why was sourav zeroed in and dropped from the Rest of India squad?Is this the way to treat a cricketer who played his heart out everytime he donned the Indian colours?
Was it a golden handshake or was it Sourav's own decision,we will never know.There will always be debates raging about the timing of the call; whether Sourav could have played for another ten months or so.Lets respect his decision;C'mon we have been scrutinising every move of his,over the last decade.He is the best person to judge his career.
What the tainted images of Mohd.Azhruddin,Ajay Jadeja or even a Kapil Dev,Dilip Vengsarkar couldnt figure out(time to retire),Dada has.As long as you play for India it is absolutely fine but when one begins to dance to the internal politics,Sourav is not the one to face the music,he plays his own.
All it matters is at the end of the day,Sourav has signalled his exit with dignity.
Sourav,the cricketer
A career which has seen it all.Unimaginable peaks,depth of controversies,team loyalty,internal conspiracies, drawbacks, comebacks,disappointing defeats and intangible victories.Rahul Dravid says,"On the off side ,next to God,there is Sourav."
Strong words,but Sourav lived up to it.His ability to pierce through any field on the off side won him his opponent's agony.Ganguly cleared the ropes with ease,the victims being the slower bowlers predominantly.Who could possibly forget his 183 against the Sri Lankans in the 1999 World Cup???Muralitharan was taken to the cleaners.At a point of time in the late 90's Sourav Ganguly became the most feared batsman(he still is!) in world cricket with 7 centuries under his belt in a single season.
The Prince of Kolkata could turn a match on its head in a space of a few overs,not only with the bat but also with the ball.His 5-16 against arch rivals Pakistan will never be forgotten by the people on both sides of the border.His intimidating stance,adventurous strokes,sweet timing,deft placements dented the confidence of bowlers across the globe.Earning himself the name The Royal Bengal Tiger,he was always on the prowl...
The leader
When Sourav Ganguly took the reigns from Azharuddin,Indian cricket was in dire straits.It had been rocked by the match fixing scandal.Top players had been caught.There was hardly any experience in the Indian side.Tendulkar had been burdened by the expectations of captaincy.A normal cricketer who had accepted the captaincy would have been a victim of the circumstances but the name was Sourav Ganguly.He gleefully accepted the responsibility and shouldered it with zeal.He moulded an inexperienced outfit into world beaters.He made the youngsters believe in themselves.Sehwag,Yuvraj,Kaif,Harbhajan,Zaheer,Parthiv enjoyed their captain's backing.He changed the face of Indian Cricket,bringing about a huge transition.
The team no longer lacked the killer instinct.Aggression was one adjective which went with Sourav Ganguly.He led the team with gusto making Rahul Dravid keep wickets and cement his place in the one day side.Some called him adamant,some adventurous.Sourav was not the one to bother about critics."Dont worry about things which are beyond your control."he said.The results reflected his words.He had delivered the goods to the people of India.Indian Team was tranformed into Team India.
The Attitude
Can any Indian dream of making an icy cool Stephen Roger Waugh lose his calm.
Sourav Ganguly did.He made Waugh wait unconditionally for the toss.He looked into the eyes of his counterparts.He tormented the Aussies at their own backyard.The streak of aggression he brought in inculcated fears in the minds of the opponents. Dada almost spoilt Steve Waugh's Farewell series.He was one cricketer who shed all inhibitions about reputations.
People said he wore his heart on his sleeve,the English team will always remember Sourav's shirt swinging act at the Lord's balcony in reply to Andrew Flintoff's bare chest scene in India.An excited Sourav took off the Indian jersey and swung it sending Indians back home into a dizzy.England had to bow down to the Maharaj of Cricket.Moral of the stroy:We give back what we get.The Conquests
Pakistan was sent searching for cover when Sourav Ganguly's boys thrashed them convincingly in both forms of the game in Pakistan itself.No other Indian skipper had manged to do this.The epic 3 match test series against Australia in 2001 where India came from rock bottom to register a series triumphwill stand testimony to his positive attitude.Champions Trophy triumphs,World Cup finals added to the numbers in his list of victories.The skipper trusted his instincts.He proved everyone wrong when he elected to bat on a windy day,when the ball was swinging both sides.He went on to the extent of pursuading Javagal Srinath to comeback after retirement.Obviously he had to succeed. Sourav's ability in man management and nurturing youngsters went a long way in him becoming India's most succesful test skipper ever.
Comeback King Sourav Ganguly Part 2:
"It is easier to give up.All you need to say is I Quit.The tough part is to carry on"-Sourav Ganguly.
A Greg Chappell or a Kiran More would be able to author this section in a better fashion than me!!!
In a public spat in the year 2006 with the then coach Greg Chappell ,Ganguly
was stripped of his captaincy.Accused of lack of motivational and fitness levels Ganguly was dropped."All doors are shut on Ganguly.He cant make it to the team forever" said chairman of selectors Kiran More.(Think twice before you speak,but who cares?!!?!)Sourav lost his place in the side.Sourav lost his touch but what Sourav did'nt lose was his belief. He went back to the basics,played for Bengal,scored heavily in the Duleep Trophy and after a string of losses for the Indian side,Sourav was recalled.What followed was the most dramatic and remarkable comebacks in world cricket.The man was on a mission to prove his distractors wrong,he did and how!Sourav Ganguly Part 2 was unleashed on the field,his will power and determination came to the forefront.Sourav won the test of his life.Scoring runs like never before,Ganguly was the top run getter for the Indian team in Tests and piled over a 1000 runs in both forms of the game in the calendar year.Subsequently,Ganguly was awarded the Castrol Asian Cricket of the Year.
Greg Chappel,Kiran More,need anything more?!?!?!Shock of your lives eh?!?!,C'mon yaar...it is Sourav Ganguly....you should have been prepared for it!
The Final Roar
"Getting a ticket to the cricket stadium 1000 bucks possibly,Watching Dada bat,Priceless!
There are some things money can't buy!!!!"
When Sourav Chandidas Ganguly walks into the cauldron at Nagpur,taking guard for one last time a wave of mixed emotions will engulf the cricketing world.The 22 yard strip would be graced by his presence for the final time.Through the grills of helmet if one notices his eyes, Nagpur,2008 would be unmistakably the same as Lords 1996.With the heart of an youngster,Sourav retires .As Sourav Ganguly walks into the sunset of a glittering carreer,he will be always remembered as a cricketer who gave his all for his country.The Royal Bengal Tiger strides away from its hunting ground,the cricketing field,retiring to its cave,the heart of every Indian where it will rest...
