SOURAV – CONTROVERSIAL BUT STILL A TRUE ACHIEVER

• SOURAV'S DEBUT IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

INDIA Vs WESTINDIES at Brisbane - Jan 11, 1992

19 yrs old Sourav got a chance to made his entry into International Cricket when India was 4 wickets down for only 35 runs. Sourav faced 13 deliveries ans scored only 3 runs before he got lbw out on Cummins’ ball, the Man of The Match for the day. He was dropped after that single chance he got to make some impression ans was blamed for a lot of other things.

A young Sourav had to face more than just the frustration of being dropped after one opportunity. Rumors of his attitude problems and lack of respect for the senior players hurt Sourav the most. There were also reports in certain newspapers that Sourav refused to carry drinks on the field for a senior cricketer, which he denies till date. He was given a raw deal on his first tour when some prominent cricketers tagged him to be ‘arrogant’ and a ‘boy with no cricketing talent’. He was ignored for well over four years and many thought that his days as an international cricketer were numbered.

He was just 19 when he was a surprise choice for the tour to Australia in 1991-92 which consisted of five Test matches, the one-day tri-series also involving the West Indies, followed by the World Cup.

Ganguly’s opportunities were somewhat limited and he was not retained for the World Cup.

During the tour, sections of the Indian media were reportedly fed information (or misinformation) about Ganguly and his alleged “attitude problems” by the administrative manager, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the secretary of the Haryana Cricket Association.

These pertained to Ganguly’s apparent reluctance to carry out regular 12th man chores such as taking the drinks onto the field and also handling equipment such as shoes.

The word was, he considered such tasks to be menial and beneath his dignity.

This is what Sunil Gavaskar (who has since become one of Ganguly’s most ardent supporters) wrote in his syndicated column that appeared in the Indian media on January 22, 1992: “…within the team he seems to be an object of fun because of his reluctance to perform his chores as the reserve player. No wonder he has been nicknamed “maharaj” since he leaves the menial jobs like carrying drinks on others while he sits watching them do it.”


Though the charges were never proven, the mud did stick and the teenager found himself consigned to the backwaters of Indian cricket for the next four years.

Following his triumphant comeback on the 1996 tour of England, he spent the next couple of years trying to dispel what he felt were unfair accusations leveled against him by Mahendra.

One explanation he gave during a TV interview was that Mahendra was at loggerheads with Jagmohan Dalmiya, then the secretary of both the CAB and the BCCI and so took it out on him, being from Kolkata.

Abbas Ali Baig, the former Test batsman who was Cricket Manager on the tour had a somewhat different story. “Sourav’s nickname of ‘Maharaj’ may have worked against him. An impression gained ground that he was perhaps too laid-back. Some of the other players on the tour who also did not get many chances to play the big matches would be up early and were quick to their workouts and ‘nets’. Sourav was perhaps not always one of this overly conscientious lot. Mr. Mahendra appeared to be of the firm opinion that Sourav was lazy, casual and disinterested. I feel Sourav was a victim of circumstances obtaining on the tour.”

A few years later, however, Sourav came back strong and more determined than ever to make his mark in the world of cricket. He made his debut along with Rahul Dravid in the 2nd test vs. England at Lord’s. Sourav amazed cricketers and critics alike when he smashed a century in his debut Test. He went on to score a century in the very next innings as well. More success came his way when Sourav was named ‘man of the series’ in his Debut.

• SOURAV THE CAPTAIN

No one had thought that a lad ridiculed as a non talent, brushed off as being high headed, accused of showing disrespect towards seniors and having attitude problems would one day lead the Indian cricket team. Yet, Sourav Ganguly is now in the hot seat as the captain of the Indian Cricket team. Sourav was appointed as captain when Sachin Tendulkar, shocked everyone by stepping down from his captaincy after India’s disastrous tour Down Under in 1999. As vice captain to Tendulkar, Sourav was the most obvious choice but he had a competition with Ajay Jadeja too.

The 2-1 victory over the Australians at home in early 2001 has since been billed as “the greatest Test series ever.” It was also one of the most acrimonious.


Steve Waugh’s ‘mental disintegration’ plans blew up in his face and for the first time an Indian cricket team was seen fighting with fire.

It all went overboard at times but there is no doubt the Indian captain’s ploy of getting up the nose of his opponents and the captain in particular worked to perfection.

Ganguly became a figure of hate in the visiting Australian media, widely perceived as being manipulated by the team management.

It was the comments of Ian Chappell in a local English daily on the eve of the second Test at Kolkata that saw him responding fiercely.

Chappell claimed the captain was arrogant in dealing with his own players and “that is the biggest threat to his tenuous hold on the captaincy,” claiming he did not treat his teammates with respect.

Ganguly smelt a rat. He blasted Chappell for his comments on the relationships within the team, alleging they had been made “at the behest of somebody else.”

Ganguly’s combative nature has often brought him into conflict with umpires and match referees, culminating in the Mike Denness affair in South Africa late in 2001.

And who can forget that shirt take off incident at Lords by hime after a great victory. That was a best suited reply to the Britishers ( flintoff) who did this in India after “equaling” the series. This act by sourav shows that how much he was hurt by that defeat and how eager he was to give it back to them. That was something which an Indian can never forget and was surely a moment of proud for us being an Indian who have the guts to reply everything back to the opposition when it comes to the nation’s pride.

The cricket world had gotten too used to the stereotype of the meek Indian cricketer. All that has changed under Ganguly, perhaps for the better.

Sourav felt that every young player should play two years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove himself. Perhaps, he being at a receiving end of a raw deal that threatened to ruin his international cricket career enabled Sourav to understand the insecurities of other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Sourav backed the youngsters in the team tremendously and thus, gained the love of his teammates.
Sourav also was not shy of taking on responsibility. He showed that he can be a leader of a team, which has greats like Sachin and Dravid in the side, without any problems. Under Sourav's leadership, India got back the winning habit which the team had forgotten.
Today, Sourav Ganguly is the most successful Indian captain leaving Mohammed Azharuddin’s previous record of 14 test wins behind. Sourav has won 21 Tests as captain, of which more than 7 wins have come overseas! His success rate is an amazing 42%, the highest ever by an Indian captain.
Under his captaincy, the Indian team achieved remarkable heights, including the Test series win against Australia at home in 2001, reaching the World Cup Final in 2003, and winning both the one-day and Test series in Pakistan in 2004.
In just a few years, Sourav rewrote the rules of captaincy. Unlike some of his predecessors, he was impartial, non-parochial, and forever pushed his players to perform better. Off the field, Sourav’s interactions with the media, his fans, and detractors were uncompromisingly honest and earned him the respect of cricket followers everywhere.

His dispute with then coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. Greg Chappell emailed the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team.

The career again seemed to be ended and many senior cricketers adviced him that he should quit now but they forgot that he is the same cricketer who was adviced some similar things when he made his debut in 1992.

After being dropped from the side for almost eight months, Ganguly was recalled to the Test team for the series against South Africa in December 2006, after an injury to Yuvraj Singh. And at present he is the most dependable batsman in the team who is scoring a half century in almost every match.

Despite of all the controversies he had in his career, he always emerged out as an achiever.

• LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM BUT U CAN’T IGNORE HIM

He is the man who always did greats for his team but is not liked by many of the people may be because he has the guts to oppose wrong things, may be because for them he is arrogant, may be because he is aggressive. The guy who changed the picture of the India Team and made it TEAM INDIA got insulted by that team itself when he was dropped and it was said that his career is almost over. When he made the comeback, it was said that others may not feel comfortable with his presence or he himself may not feel comfortable in the team as he was insulted and nobody supported him in his bad days, but he still made his comeback and now again is scoring very consistenly and is contributing most to the Indian Totals.

He started his career with controversies, then emerged as a winner and become a very important member of the team and finally the captain of the team. But once his bad patch started, his capabilities were questioned by then rulers of the Indian cricket and he was insulted. In his bad days, his teammates too dint support him.But he still made a comeback in the same team and again proved his importance.

He is truely following Rabindranath’s song “Ekla Chalo Re” (the song exhorts the listener to continue his or her journey, despite abandonment or lack of support from others).

He is an inspiration for his fans.

Alongwith his great allround records as a player, he was a great captain too who took Indian Cricket to great heights and taught India how to be aggressive against any opposition.

May be Sachin Tendukar is “THE GOD” of the Indian Cricket,

May be Rahul Dravid is “THE WALL” of Indian Cricket,

But truly

SOURAV GANGULY IS “THE MONARCH OF INDIAN CRICKET”...