A fan's tribute to Sourav Ganguly

Arrogance: Two ends of the spectrum

Dust a few old video tapes stacked up in the archive, roll back to the early 90s and you will find out this name Sourav Ganguly who was drafted into the Indian squad which toured Australia for the illustrious Benson and Hedges Trophy. Scarcely will you find a newcomer making news for the right reasons and Ganguly didn't belong to that rare breed for sure. A solitary appearance with a stay at the crease that lasted thirteen balls fetching three runs would never make news, would they? 

Rumours conveyed a story which wouldn't have pleased the passionate Bengalis around the globe. Ganguly allegedly refused to carry drinks on to the field stirring furious agitations in and around the team. Wonder how a raw talent fresh from only a handful of domestic matches could make such a move. If you are reluctant to trust the quote "Morning shows the day", this man would make your job a little easier. Arrogance is a stand-out quality/loop-hole of this man's life and that went on to rule his stars more often than not.

Dare not take any credit away from the lifestyle he has always led. Hailing from a wealth clustered family and nicknamed Maharaja by his parents, arrogance was something he was born with. His princely upbringing frame more reasons than anything else to get him carried away to refuse one of the duties.Made to learn the hard way, Sourav from one shot to national fame was pushed into the darkest of trenches of the deepest of oceans. In one phrase, he was bitten hard by Oblivion.

A young boy who turned to cricket just because of his elder brother Snehasis, could have abandoned the game given the arrogance he possessed and perhaps that was on the cards but somehow the people who were around him instilled enough faith and confidence in him to kick on. What was next is Ganguly's superb domestic season where he went on to stack up runs over and over again for his Ranji side Bengal.

But then however big you scored, the cricketing hotbeds of Mumbai, Delhi and Karnataka always ran away to form the cream. After an acrimonious beginning to his ultra-short international outing, Saurav would have never dared to build a dream of getting back that India cap. But it was that word 'Arrogance' again which hogged limelight in 1996, a crucial point in Ganguly's cricketing career. This time around, the Bengal southpaw was at the better side of affairs with him pushing around the squad with runs and not needless acts of his which earned him undue fame during his first tour with India. It was the turn of flamboyant Navjot Singh Sidhu who ran into an under-highlighted spat with the then skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and thus flew back to India in the middle of the series. And how many would have guessed, let's include Ganguly here too, that he would get a spot in the squad and will make his Test debut at the Mecca of Cricket, Lord's. So it was arrogance again, but from a different person, that enabled 'Dada' to burst into the biggest scene with respect to cricket. Since then, arrogance has almost been synonymous to S.C.Ganguly and when I say arrogance, it is not necessarily a bad quality. What happened next is history but we will still look back to it (and more) in the next part. Keep reading...

The Elegant Southpaw -  India's new batting giant

And then the stars above decided that this arrogant young man had to have his day. It was today, 20th of June 1996 which saw Lord's packed to the brim with people dressed up nicely in their long coats and blazers. A glass full of beer in their hands and a pipe to make cricket watching all the more pleasing and comfortable. No doubts that it's the Mecca of Cricket, Lord's where you find such serene atmosphere, puffs of cloud resembling those which seem to have come straight out of the paintings. The sun was shining but perhaps not more than this lad, Sourav Ganguly.

He was drafted into the side as a middle order batsman but the first job at hand after earning an India Test cap, was to bowl and didn't he do that with a lot of conviction. Two wickets under the belt and this man was all set to draw the large part of attention. A young man seemed to step into the scene without much care from the crowd, how would he draw attention when you have everyone waiting for the Little Master? No one would have thought that this elegant southpaw will storm his way into the record books with a debut ton. What followed was an eye candy of a knock, melifluous drives, fast travelling but gentle cuts, lovely balance and a confidence full upto the brim. Another man from Karnataka debuted at the same time but this Bengal southpaw took everyone by surprise, his batting prowess stole the show and none seemed to come close to him that day, not even God. And the remark which came in sometime later from the other end was, "Ganguly is next to God on the offside". If Lord's was not enough, Ganguly stacked up another brilliant ton and picked up three wickets too. Ended up as the Man of the Match and the joint Man of the Series. What more can a debutant ask for and that too on an overseas tour. So far, it's been like a life of a fish which is brought up in the aquarium initially, thrown into the deep end of the sea, on first attempt Sourav couldn't deliver the goods. But on the second attempt, he certainly thrived and with a lot of pomp.

The following seasons of cricket saw this young man stamping his mark in a team full of big names, the biggest of them all being the Master Blaster. India was slowly being regarded as the most feared when it came to batting with Sachin leading from the front, Mohammed Azharuddin forming a potent middle order with the grafters Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh. Sourav Ganguly's unprecendented success took him to the top of the order where the southpaw formed the most lethal opening pair in the history of One Day cricket alongwith Sachin Tendulkar. The deadly duo tormented each and every bowling attack which came their way and that started a new legacy which will certainly be looked at in present times and also the ages to come. A lot of credit goes to Sachin as well because it always takes two to tango. Sachin was at the peak of his form, scaling one summit after the other and it was this southpaw who basked in his glory. If Sachin was the Sun of Indian cricket, then Sourav was a different version of a moon, who reflected Sachin's light but at the same time, had his own too. Sourav went on piling runs and there was this period where this man came close to edging out Sachin in terms of ODI runs and centuries. All that he did could only head in one direction, skywards. Spectacularly, Sourav averages around 55 in matches that India won. His form never seemed to dip, average went on climbing the stairs. However, in Tests, Sourav didn't sparkle in the same fashion. The first 30 Tests were the best of the lot but in the coming seasons, with his rise in the ODIs, it was a subsequent slump in the longer format often prompting greats to comment that this man is not the long staying, big scoring man. He constantly failed to compile good knocks in the longer format, a format which helped him burst into the scene with the glitters. One good Test knock came in between a lot of failures, a lot of starts which were never converted. But despite all this, Sourav remained in the top fray thanks to his world class knocks like 124 against Pakistan in Dhaka, 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup, 141 against Pakistan in Adelaide, his unmatched Sahara Cup success which was much like the success Sachin enjoyed in Sharjah.

Just when it looked that things might stagnate for Sourav, his life went through a process of metamorphosis. When the Indian team looked like attaining a World beating status, a demon named Match-fixing engulfed the Cricketing world in general and Indian cricket in particular. Lots of big names were allegedly involved in cricket's most hated and most dangerous scandal ever. This was the time when Indian cricket hit a nadir with the whole nation losing faith in the team(which was worshipped before) and the team losing some great names which meant it was left with a few big holes. What happened in this situation could very well have finished off the career of the person taking over the reigns. But Sourav Ganguly entered the scene and ruled it for quite a long time like none before and that perhaps will remain Sourav's greatest contribution to Indian cricket, more than his batting, more than anything else. For more about that, keep reading...

He Came, He Saw, He Conquered 

Desperate times need desperate measures. With the Pandora's Box opened, the cricketing world had no clue as to how to deal with the Match-fixing trouble. The Indian board in particular had a lot to think about and a lot do as India seemed to be the epicenter of the match fixing earthquake. During this time, the other senior players were not prepared to adorn the crown of thorns - Captaincy. The board turned to one Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. Ganguly during that time was certainly at his batting best and there were mixed reactions to this decision. While a few thought that the board was taking a proper decision others thought that this is going to catalyse the destruction initiated by Match fixing. I still remember watching hoardes of Bengali fans giving lively interviews on TV and saying things like, "This is a conspiracy to destroy the career of this prolific batsman" et al. However, Ganguly was silent all the while as he was busy playing for Lancashire. 

Recap: Ganguly first captained India in a tri series league match in Singapore as Tendulkar was rested before the finals. India lost the match but 6 days later, Ganguly was named captain for the DMC Toronto Cricket Festival following India's participation in the Commonwealth Games due to which, Tendulkar was unavailable. He won the series but still many thought that this was a mere temporary arrangement made by the BCCI.

Back: The beans were spilled just before the home series against South Africa and Ganguly quietly put on the crown. His silence was merely a lull before the storm. India won the 5 match series 3-2 with a few tight finishes, the proper test of a good captain. The trick seemed to have worked and he stayed on as the skipper. But the knives were out again as India failed to make the finals of the next two tournaments - Coca cola Cup at Sharjah and Asia Cup at Bangladesh. However, there was no doubt that this lad was shaping up to become a good captain. He was beginning to adjust to the role and soon we saw the Indian team metamorphosise. New faces, young blood and the Indian team was like never before. Lesser heard names, from places the cricketing world never knew exist, began to feature in the Indian squad thanks to the new skipper and suddenly everything else was forgotten.

Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan suddenly became the talk of the town and the forgotten offie, Harbhajan, was reinvented, reshaped and restructured by Ganguly. Still, the big wins seemed to be missing and there was a lack in consistency in the Indian side. Things changed when the invincible Aussies came to India with a 15 test winning streak and the world was discussing the margin of defeat that this team will hand India. The muffles turned into screams when India lost the first test by 10 wickets in under three days. Ganguly and his side was under the hammer. The hammer beat harder in Kolkata when the Indian side had to follow on. Skipper Ganguly decided to promote Laxman to 3 and boy did that work!! Rest as they say is history. Once the Indians took a handsome lead thanks to the wonderful batting of Laxman and Dravid, suddenly when India bowled, the field placements seemed to be perfect, the bowling changes apt and every move a masterstroke. India created history by winning the match after following on and went on to win the 3 test series 2-1 after having been drubbed in the first match. One thing was for sure, Captain commendable was here to stay!!!

New Age India suddenly began to dominate the proceedings. Ganguly began calling the shots. The Board gave him what he wanted and he gave what the Board and a billion fans wanted - wins. Under him, India began to win and do so consistently. India won a test match on Caribbean soil after decades and managed not to lose a series in England as well. India also went on to win the Champions Trophy in 2002 jointly. But a terrible tour to New Zealand and a horrible start to the 2003 World Cup, once again raised eyebrows. Tigers are most dangerous when cornered and we are talking of the Royal Bengal Tiger. After being thwarted by the Aussies in the league match, Ganguly suddenly instilled an unprecedented amount of zeal in the team. The Huddle was introduced, the team gelled up as a unit in a jiffy and things started to come back on track. India could not be beaten. In each game their performance was better and they were more ruthless. But India faltered at the last hurdle, a thing that became the feature of Ganguly's captaincy and it is certainly not one that Ganguly will like.

Come December 2003, India were to tour down under. This was dreaded by one and all and more so because the Mighty Aussies were humbled in the test series the last time these two sides met. Again people were discussing the defeat margin and were considering a draw to be a victory. There was a lot of banter on and off the field and Australia found themselves in an unknown territory as Ganguly responded to Steve Waugh's "Mental Disintegration" in the Aussie way. When the chips were down, the captain led from the front. A gutsy century in the first test helped India save the game and India was ready to slain Goliath. A win in Adeilade, a defeat in Melbourne and a draw at Sydney ensured that the series is drawn and the Border Gavaskar trophy remained in India. This was a big big achievement and he followed it up with another rare feat. He led India to their first series win in Pakistan and thus became the first Indian captain not to be sacked after coming back from a Pakistan tour.

Then came a time when every move of Ganguly was scrutinized and questions were raised on his commitment. Ganguly missed a few important matches due to injury and this didn't go down well with people but more so with the new Indian coach - Greg Chappell. What followed was something that was no way likeable. Suddenly captain courageous looked timid and the sensitive Indian public got some food for thought with dirty linen being washed in public. For all that and more keep reading...

But I would like to end this piece by mentioning that Sourav Ganguly - the captain, deserves as much respect as Sachin Tendulkar - the cricketer, does. He converted a timid looking Indian outfit into one of the most dreaded teams and the only team which has consistently troubled the World Champions. Take a bow Sourav!!!

The Indian Phoenix - Dada rises from his Ashes

Many things go wrong in life but nowhere close to as regularly or horribly as it happened for Sourav Ganguly. Things started shaping up after Ganguly served a five match ban for slow over-rates in the IndianOil Cup during which his fellow mate Rahul Dravid became the captain. A poor form with the bat and some defeats had given room for speculations that Chappell might soon want Dravid to become the captain on a full time basis. But the selectors decided to go on with Ganguly for the tour to Zimbabwe. There was pressure on Ganguly - the batsman and Ganguly - the captain and he responded with a lacklustre ton in Bulawayo against the Zimbabweans. Then he faced perhaps the most controversial interview of his life. That interview with Harsha Bhogle spelt doom (one of the biggest mistakes of his life and career) where he went on record saying that there were suggestions made to him to step down as the captain. And then the ever so acrimoniously popular e-mail of Greg Chappel sprung up to the public eye which, as portrayed by the Ganguly camp, was a tactical move to finish an already declining career. Ganguly was sacked as a captain, as a player and a few moments later, his car reached sneaking a tough way out of the huge crowds into his palatial home at Behala, Kolkata. It was more over for Ganguly than anything else. And that was that, Sourav never got his crown back with which he resurrected the once trodden Indian kingdom.

Comments and suggestions (which Ganguly wouldn't have wanted to welcome) started flocking in asking him to retire and that there was no more chance for him to stage a comeback, he was on the wrong side of the thirties already and he needn't prove his mettle and talent to anyone anymore. But then, we're talking about Ganguly, a warrior who has done it so many times in the past by proving everyone wrong, he initiated another battle of his, walking out of the arena and having a hit almost everyday, away from the public eye, away from the grasp of media (once upon a time, his best friend). Practice sessions had more intensity and all of it conveyed one thing, his purpose to prove the selectors wrong one more time, one last time. And then came an ad of an aerated drink with the lines, "Aap apne Dada ko bhule toh nahin", meaning I hope you people have not forgotten your Dada. Emotions run high, sympathy pours in when you see a warrior look this helpless, a man who was known for staging a battle, seemed to have just given up but a few good knocks in the domestic circuit brought him into the reckoning again and Sourav was once again given a chance to prove himself. Air-tickets for South Africa and what better way to prove your worth, a fighter knock of 51 in his first Test innings on comeback, top scoring for his side and in the process taking India to their first Test win on South African soil. 

And then, there was nothing stopping this Prince, no looking back as he went on stitching one good knock after the other, taking his side from positions of discomfort to safety and then to winning positions. He had a terrific tour of South Africa, England (his second home) was special, and then the home series against Pakistan was the all-time best for him. It seemed he had come back not only to slap his critics hard, but also to realize a few cherished dreams which were left unfulfilled. His performance infront of the home crowd was never one to be proud of and he came back to smash a wonderful ton against the arch-rivals at the Indian Mecca of Cricket (more importantly, the Royal Bengal Tiger's own den). Double ton was another feat he would have wanted to achieve and he didn't have to wait too long, Bangalore, where the next test was played saw that coming from the bat of Sourav. All in all, it was an unforgettable series for Dada and all his fans, in which he scored the second most number of runs in a 3 match Test series by an Indian batsman. Ganguly's honeymoon period seemed never ending and his success story went on in the home series against the Proteas too where he scripted a brave 87 on a minefield of a Kanpur pitch to help India draw level in the 3 Test series. It had been a phenomenal year for Sourav where he went on to achieve personal milestones every now and then, his contributions at the same time didn't go in vain as India went on to win quite a lot of matches. 

It was a glorious 2007 where he ended up as the second highest run-getter in Tests that season, fifth in the ODIs list. He was also named the Asian Cricketer of the Year for the brilliant season. Despite a wonderful ODI season, Sourav was dropped in an interest to build a young side keeping the WC 2011 in sight. All was merry and fun as far as Tests were concerned but like a true reality tv show, Sourav's life was once again at another of it's trough. He had a miserable time in Sri Lanka but much like his other team-mates but as expected, the axe had to fall on him. And he was dropped from the ROI squad in the Irani Trophy (considered to be a dress rehearsal before the all important Aussie Test series). And perhaps this was the time when the former skipper felt that this was it and decided to call it a day. It has been special farewell series for him, although the end could have been better for sure. But that is how most of the great careers have ended, flops to end illustrious careers. 

It's not only the end of Ganguly's career, it's the end of an era and more importantly, it's the end of a revolution which started 8 years back under this man who took over the reigns in testing times. A fine batsman, by far the best left-hander the nation had seen, a spirited fighter, who fought for himself and his team-mates. This career has been a treat to watch, one to treasure. Thank you Sourav for making cricket watching all the more pleasing during all these years. Thank you Sourav for making the Indian Cricket team what it is today.

Adios!!

This four part series was first published on www.cricbuzz.com during the retirement series of Sourav Ganguly against Australia in 2008. It was later published across different websites and also found a place in the opening edition of an English monthly, P3..Not Just Page 3. Special thanks to Nishant Majithia for compiling the third part of the series.