I often wonder….. how will history remember Saurav. Will anyone actually remember him say 50 years down the line. After all he has played his cricket alongside India’s arguably best sportsperson Sachin Tendulkar. So why will people remember him? If not for his comeback, we would have associated our Dada by his blunt aggression shown by him by waving his T shirt at lords after the Natwest victory in 2003. He could easily have been forgotten.
Fortunately Saurav has done much more than that. He has done much more than playing Cricket. His career coincides with India’s new found self belief as a nation in its abilities and I am sure it will not be a overstatement that Saurav has been a catalyst to this new found belief. It is not uncommon that a nation finds its inspiration… its aspirations through sportsmen. Especially in a country like India, which has no role model to look upto in its public life. Plagued by corruption, indecision, instability India looked upto the cricketers. But Indian cricket was no different. In 1999/ 2000 season, when Saurav took on the captaincy, Indian cricket was rocked by its worst crisis ever: The infamous match fixing scandal!!!! The revelation that shocked the nation where Cricket was a religion and cricketers were no less than gods. Trust was shattered and people, understandably so, turned their backs to cricket. Saurav took on the job of captaining the Indian team when the popularity of Cricket in India was at its all time low.
Like a true leader, Dada, started collecting the pieces left after this Tsunami. To be true nothing much was left after this Tsunami. So he started picking the talent from all parts of India. The Shewags, the Harbhajhans, the Yuvrajs and so many more. At a time when every failure was being criticized heavily by critics and looked upon by suspicion by public, he defended each of his boy like he was defending himself. India achieved what others might consider impossible under his captaincy. In 2001, when Aussies lead Series 1-0 when they enforced a follow on to India in Kolkata. Who can forget the miraculous turn around of the series from there. Not only India won the Kolkata Test but we went on to win the 3rd test at Chennai and the series with it. Within 3 years he made a team which almost won us the World Cup in 2003!!! We won almost all ODI series in that era. Impossible wins like in the Natwest Finals in 2003 where Kaif and Yuvi chased down 326 had almost become a habit. Even the mighty Australians had nightmares of India at that time. They were seriously challenged in the drawn test series in 2003/ 04 for the 1st time in over a decade in Australia!!!!
But destiny had different plans for Dada. As if to say, this is not enough for a life time… lets see if you can handle more challenges. Ganguly’s personal form dipped from there on to a extent that he was asked by his coach to drop himself from the team!!! The aggressor lost his cool and the Indian public lost its memory. He was infamously dropped from the team for more than a year.
He was picked for one of the hardest tours… South Africa. And what did he do there … well not much. He was only the highest run getter for India in that series!!! And since then every series he has got better and better. So much so that he was the Man of the Series against Pakistan in the recently concluded series.
If you're looking for a clue to what has helped Sourav Ganguly sustain his spectacular run in Test cricket since his return at the fag end of last year, don't bother looking at his footwork or the flow of his bat. Take, instead, a close look at his eyes while he is batting. They speak of a calmness that borders on serenity, and a combination of composure and resolve. You could see it in his comeback innings in Johannesburg, which fetched him an unbeaten 51, and you could see it through his epic innings in Bangalore that marked a new high in his career.
Ganguly has taught India the true definition of aggression. People in India wrongly conceive that if you sledge you are aggressive… far from it. Ganguly has always been aggressive not only by his words but by his deeds. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that that Ganguly has hardly spoken anything after his come back and yet is mighty aggressive. In his bowling, and on the field, we have seen the more familiar Ganguly; excitable, emotional, even fiery. He has appealed cantankerously and celebrated his wickets and catches with child-like gusto.
He has let himself go only once after his comeback: it was an emotional moment, getting to his first hundred before his adoring home fans. But his celebration after he got to his first double-hundred, a landmark he sought and will cherish, was far more subdued. There was the raising of the arms and the acknowledgment of applause from his team-mates and the crowd. But then there was also a series of little pumps of the fist, and a waving of the helmet. Those were for himself. There was an air of fulfillment, of a man celebrating privately in public. His smile touched a million hearts: his struggle to regain his place, and some would say his honour, have been among the most stirring and uplifting stories in cricket.
His story is about a man who simply refused to surrender to what seemed inevitable to most. Much can be said about his improved footwork and the decisiveness of his stroke-making, but in the end, it has been a triumph of spirit, of incredible strength of mind and faith.
But he is living out a fairytale at the moment, and nothing he achieves will be a surprise anymore. There are many, me included, who believed Ganguly's time as an international cricketer was over. We owe him an apology and a salute.
Dada you have made us proud !!!!
Fortunately Saurav has done much more than that. He has done much more than playing Cricket. His career coincides with India’s new found self belief as a nation in its abilities and I am sure it will not be a overstatement that Saurav has been a catalyst to this new found belief. It is not uncommon that a nation finds its inspiration… its aspirations through sportsmen. Especially in a country like India, which has no role model to look upto in its public life. Plagued by corruption, indecision, instability India looked upto the cricketers. But Indian cricket was no different. In 1999/ 2000 season, when Saurav took on the captaincy, Indian cricket was rocked by its worst crisis ever: The infamous match fixing scandal!!!! The revelation that shocked the nation where Cricket was a religion and cricketers were no less than gods. Trust was shattered and people, understandably so, turned their backs to cricket. Saurav took on the job of captaining the Indian team when the popularity of Cricket in India was at its all time low.
Like a true leader, Dada, started collecting the pieces left after this Tsunami. To be true nothing much was left after this Tsunami. So he started picking the talent from all parts of India. The Shewags, the Harbhajhans, the Yuvrajs and so many more. At a time when every failure was being criticized heavily by critics and looked upon by suspicion by public, he defended each of his boy like he was defending himself. India achieved what others might consider impossible under his captaincy. In 2001, when Aussies lead Series 1-0 when they enforced a follow on to India in Kolkata. Who can forget the miraculous turn around of the series from there. Not only India won the Kolkata Test but we went on to win the 3rd test at Chennai and the series with it. Within 3 years he made a team which almost won us the World Cup in 2003!!! We won almost all ODI series in that era. Impossible wins like in the Natwest Finals in 2003 where Kaif and Yuvi chased down 326 had almost become a habit. Even the mighty Australians had nightmares of India at that time. They were seriously challenged in the drawn test series in 2003/ 04 for the 1st time in over a decade in Australia!!!!
But destiny had different plans for Dada. As if to say, this is not enough for a life time… lets see if you can handle more challenges. Ganguly’s personal form dipped from there on to a extent that he was asked by his coach to drop himself from the team!!! The aggressor lost his cool and the Indian public lost its memory. He was infamously dropped from the team for more than a year.
He was picked for one of the hardest tours… South Africa. And what did he do there … well not much. He was only the highest run getter for India in that series!!! And since then every series he has got better and better. So much so that he was the Man of the Series against Pakistan in the recently concluded series.
If you're looking for a clue to what has helped Sourav Ganguly sustain his spectacular run in Test cricket since his return at the fag end of last year, don't bother looking at his footwork or the flow of his bat. Take, instead, a close look at his eyes while he is batting. They speak of a calmness that borders on serenity, and a combination of composure and resolve. You could see it in his comeback innings in Johannesburg, which fetched him an unbeaten 51, and you could see it through his epic innings in Bangalore that marked a new high in his career.
Ganguly has taught India the true definition of aggression. People in India wrongly conceive that if you sledge you are aggressive… far from it. Ganguly has always been aggressive not only by his words but by his deeds. One need not be a rocket scientist to understand that that Ganguly has hardly spoken anything after his come back and yet is mighty aggressive. In his bowling, and on the field, we have seen the more familiar Ganguly; excitable, emotional, even fiery. He has appealed cantankerously and celebrated his wickets and catches with child-like gusto.
He has let himself go only once after his comeback: it was an emotional moment, getting to his first hundred before his adoring home fans. But his celebration after he got to his first double-hundred, a landmark he sought and will cherish, was far more subdued. There was the raising of the arms and the acknowledgment of applause from his team-mates and the crowd. But then there was also a series of little pumps of the fist, and a waving of the helmet. Those were for himself. There was an air of fulfillment, of a man celebrating privately in public. His smile touched a million hearts: his struggle to regain his place, and some would say his honour, have been among the most stirring and uplifting stories in cricket.
His story is about a man who simply refused to surrender to what seemed inevitable to most. Much can be said about his improved footwork and the decisiveness of his stroke-making, but in the end, it has been a triumph of spirit, of incredible strength of mind and faith.
But he is living out a fairytale at the moment, and nothing he achieves will be a surprise anymore. There are many, me included, who believed Ganguly's time as an international cricketer was over. We owe him an apology and a salute.
Dada you have made us proud !!!!
