The ‘Prince of Kolkata’, Sourav Ganguly is widely considered to be the man who transformed the Indian Team into ‘Team India’. He infused much needed killer instinct into the team.
The team which was known for being ‘Tigers at home, lambs abroad’, actually starting winning consistently away from home under him.
‘Dada’, as he is popularly known, wore passion on his sleeve. He was known for never shying away from a scrap and to stand by the youngsters he believed in, come what may.
The Indian Cricket fans loved ‘Dada’ and still do. Dropped from the team after his famous falling out with Greg Chappell, everyone thought his career was over. But Dada made a famous comeback. He scored a double hundred against Pakistan. He bowed out in style.
'The Boy from Behala' has many facets to his personalty. You have to have that if you have to successfully lead a team like India. You have to be a politician too. It is my prediction that Dada may venture into politics one day and will prove to be a success in that too.
There are many tales associated with Dada.
Here are some really funny ones.
Sourav – Nasser : On Football
Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain were two highly intense captains and shared great on-field rivalry. Years after their retirement, the rivalry continues — but in the form of commentary box jibes. Ganguly’s love for football is well known — he co-owns Indian Super League (ISL) club Atletico de Kolkata, which won the inaugural title. India’s FIFA ranking may be a subject of joke, but Hussain should have known, be it on or off the field, you never try to pull former Indian captain’s legs and when it is football, Dada does get touchy.
Here’s what happened in the commentary box recently:
Nasser Hussain: When can I see India playing in a football World Cup?
Harsha Bhogle: It’s better not to participate rather than getting knocked out in the first round.
Sourav Ganguly: If India had played World Cup football for 50 years, then they would have qualified more than once for the finals — unlike England!
On the massive contribution of Rahul Dravid
During India’s tour of England in 2011, the visiting side struggled. But one Indian stood firm amidst the ruins — Rahul Dravid. Sachin Tendulkar failed to get going again and Dravid rose to the occasion and scored another fine hundred. An excited David Lloyd and Ganguly were commentating and the latter beautifully summed up Dravid’s contribution.
David Lloyd: The beauty of Indian batting is when someone like Tendulkar fails, someone else does it and this time it was Rahul Dravid.
Sourav Ganguly: This time? He has done it time and again. He has done it day in and day out for 15 years!
On his popularity in Kolkata
Sachin Tendulkar played his penultimate Test in Kolkata and the entire city was captivated by the Master Blaster. Kolkata prepared itself to gift an ideal farewell to the country’s one of the most beloved sons.
Looking at the Tendulkar mania around, Harsha Bhogle asked Sourav Ganguly:
Harsha Bhogle: Do you think Sachin will be more popular than you in that Kolkata Test match?
Ganguly: Yes, but only for those five days!
Turnout !!
India and England were locked in a do-or-die battle at Perth in the tri-series in January 2015. Sourav Ganguly was with Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box. The trio was discussing the low turnout crowd, when Ganguly delivered another gem.
Sunil Gavaskar: The attendance today is 7653.
Sourav Ganguly: We have that attendance in Durga Pooja!
Greg Chappell - Don't Dare to Call me
The Ganguly-Chappell controversy is one of the ugliest ones and the fallout of once close friends is well-documented. Ganguly hasn’t forgiven the former Indian coach yet and he does not hide that behind polite diplomacy. Even Sachin Tendulkar in his book criticised the Australian great and wrote about the harm he had done to Indian cricket. After the launch of Tendulkar’s book, the Chappell subject was discussed by several sections of media and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai shot a direct question to Ganguly.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Does Greg Chappell owe an apology to Indian cricket? To Sachin Tendulkar, to Sourav Ganguly, to Dravid?
Sourav Ganguly: He can call up Tendulkar or Dravid. But he dare not dial my number. If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly.
Ravi Shastri in firing line !
Well, the internet is full of Ravi Shastri jokes and the netizens never miss an opportunity to troll the former Indian cricketer for his commentary clichés. Shastri has a habit of getting cocky, but if you try to do that with Ganguly, you better get ready to be owned.
Ravi Shastri: In Eden Gardens, Kolkata, is there a Ganguly pavilion or Ganguly stand?
Sourav Ganguly: The whole ground belongs to Ganguly!
And here are some serious ones………..
His Marriage
Weeks after his successful tour of England in 1996, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. The bride and groom's family were sworn enemies at that point and this news caused an uproar between them. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997.
Refused to carry drinks?
In 1991-92, Ganguly was a part of the Indian team on the tour to Australia, where he made his one-day debut. That was to be his only international appearance in four years until he made his comeback on the tour to England in 1996. It was alleged that Ganguly had refused to carry drinks, one of the roles of a benched player, on that tour Down Under. Years later, Ganguly denied these suggestions. In an interview to Rediff, “I don’t know where this story has come from. We had a manager on the trip to Australia in 1992, Mr. Ranbir Singh. He is probably the worst guy I have ever seen in my life. It is a shame that we have had managers like him for India on long tours. He was a shame, a shame to Indian cricket.”
Alleged affair with Nagma
In early 2001, as India were getting ready to play Australia at home, there were strong rumours of Ganguly’s alleged affair with actress Nagma. There were murmurs that the two visited a temple in South India and had performed a puja meant for married couples. Through that, Ganguly’s wife Dona stood by her man, telling Sify, “It’s all rubbish. I’m extremely angry at the way some newspapers are trying to defame us. It’s unfortunate that Sourav become the victim of such things.” Ganguly’s father Chandidas even told Times of India that he believed that photographs of the two were altered. Two years down the line, Nagma subtly confirmed the alliance, telling the Savvy magazine, “Whatever one says, nobody has denied anything. As long as there is no denial of each other’s existence in each other’s life, any person can say anything they want. There was a career at stake, besides other things, so one had to part. One had to weigh a lot of things, rather than be on an ego trip and insist on being together.”
Making Steve Waugh wait for the toss
The India-Australia series of 2001 is one of the most interesting contests in recent times. A resurgent Indian side took on the might of the Aussies and triumphed in a dramatic contest. Behind India’s resurgence was the young captain Ganguly, who unlike some of his predecessors, had this knack of unsettling his opponents. During that series, he supposedly reported late for the toss for every game, which irritated the normally cool Steve Waugh. “The fact that he turned up late every game, it was his choice. I just thought it showed a lack of respect for the game. It didn’t really affect me. The match referee actually told him that he had to turn up on time,” PTI quoted Waugh during his visit to India in 2013. Ganguly denied that he was late on every occasion and instead claimed that it occurred only once, when he couldn’t find his blazer. Nevertheless, this story became a part of cricketing folklore, thanks to India’s stunning series triumph.
Shirt-waving at Lord’s
On the hallowed turf at Lord’s, would anyone dare to celebrate by stripping of his shirt to reveal and bare upper body and then wave the shirt? Ganguly did exactly that in 2002. In a dramatic game that saw India chase down 326 to win the NatWest series, Ganguly took off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and waved it in the air as his team celebrated. John Wright wrote in the Indian Summers that Harbhajan Singh had planned the same for the whole team, only to be stopped by Rahul Dravid. That didn’t stop Ganguly as he went for it spontaneously. It was payback for Andrew Flintoff’s similar act at Wankhede Stadium earlier that year after England had beaten India in a tense game.
Grassy surface, Cold feet?
Did Ganguly miss the third Test against Australia at Nagpur in 2004 due to a grassy wicket? This remains a popular conspiracy theory that Ganguly was unhappy with the grass on the surface for the important game and opted out of it. In the lead-up to the game, he was quite vocal about the need to have a surface that helps the home side. However, on the morning of the Test it was announced that Ganguly was not playing due to an injured groin and that Harbhajan Singh was out due to an illness. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, the Australian players who featured in that Test, wrote in their respective autobiographies that they suspected that Ganguly opted out. Hayden wrote in Standing My Ground, “We put their ailments down to acute cases of ‘greentrackitis’, where you develop a severe intolerance to green wickets likely to give you nothing as a spin bowler and plenty of headaches as a batsman.”
The Greg Chappell saga
This is the mother of all Ganguly controversies. In 2005, there was a change of guard in the Indian team management as Greg Chappell took over from John Wright as coach. Ganguly was in the midst of a tough run with the bat and pressure was mounting on him. During the tour to Zimbabwe, Chappell told him quite frankly that the pressure of captaincy was perhaps affecting his batting, in-turn affecting the team. Ganguly hit a laboured ton in the first Test and then told the media that he was asked to resign. The whole controversy then snowballed into a big affair as Greg Chappell wrote an email to the board, detailing a saga of disagreements between him and Ganguly. Soon after the tour, Ganguly was dismissed as captain and dropped from the one-day side. He spent about a year on the sidelines before he regained his spot. It remains one of the most acrimonious times in Indian cricket. Fans in Kolkata did not take this kindly and had cheered for the South African team during an ODI against a Dravid-led Indian side. The Chappell era ended in ignominy as India were knocked out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the first round.
Kolkata Knight Riders and the multiple captaincy
In 2008, crowd favourite Ganguly had captained Kolkata in the inaugural IPL. However, before the second season in South Africa, it was announced that Kolkata were going for an inexplicable “multiple captain” approach. A day before the tournament, Brendon McCullum took charge of the side. Through that, Ganguly looked a lonely figure — many building him up as a victim. This controversy had more to do with the fans than Ganguly himself. The fans hadn’t taken it well and Kolkata were slammed by many. It turned out to be a horror season for them. The Fake IPL player blog also made its appearance. In 2010, Ganguly returned to captain Kolkata, but was not retained the following year — a season he played for the Pune Warriors India.
Bhajji on Dada
Harbhajan Singh has said that in 1998 when he was reported for chucking and was out of the Indian Team, he contemplated migrating to Canada and become a Truck Driver. The future was so bleak for him. At that time Ganguly backed him and asked him keep faith and stay back. Subsequently he was cleared by ICC and the rest is history. Not surprisingly Bhajji has enormous respect and admiration for Dada. The same can be said of Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and many others in whom Dada showed faith and backed them.
May Dada live long and his Dada-giri continue !!
About Me
The team which was known for being ‘Tigers at home, lambs abroad’, actually starting winning consistently away from home under him.
The Indian Cricket fans loved ‘Dada’ and still do. Dropped from the team after his famous falling out with Greg Chappell, everyone thought his career was over. But Dada made a famous comeback. He scored a double hundred against Pakistan. He bowed out in style.
'The Boy from Behala' has many facets to his personalty. You have to have that if you have to successfully lead a team like India. You have to be a politician too. It is my prediction that Dada may venture into politics one day and will prove to be a success in that too.
There are many tales associated with Dada.
Here are some really funny ones.
Sourav – Nasser : On Football
Sourav Ganguly and Nasser Hussain were two highly intense captains and shared great on-field rivalry. Years after their retirement, the rivalry continues — but in the form of commentary box jibes. Ganguly’s love for football is well known — he co-owns Indian Super League (ISL) club Atletico de Kolkata, which won the inaugural title. India’s FIFA ranking may be a subject of joke, but Hussain should have known, be it on or off the field, you never try to pull former Indian captain’s legs and when it is football, Dada does get touchy.
Here’s what happened in the commentary box recently:
Nasser Hussain: When can I see India playing in a football World Cup?
Harsha Bhogle: It’s better not to participate rather than getting knocked out in the first round.
Sourav Ganguly: If India had played World Cup football for 50 years, then they would have qualified more than once for the finals — unlike England!
On the massive contribution of Rahul Dravid
During India’s tour of England in 2011, the visiting side struggled. But one Indian stood firm amidst the ruins — Rahul Dravid. Sachin Tendulkar failed to get going again and Dravid rose to the occasion and scored another fine hundred. An excited David Lloyd and Ganguly were commentating and the latter beautifully summed up Dravid’s contribution.
David Lloyd: The beauty of Indian batting is when someone like Tendulkar fails, someone else does it and this time it was Rahul Dravid.
Sourav Ganguly: This time? He has done it time and again. He has done it day in and day out for 15 years!
On his popularity in Kolkata
Sachin Tendulkar played his penultimate Test in Kolkata and the entire city was captivated by the Master Blaster. Kolkata prepared itself to gift an ideal farewell to the country’s one of the most beloved sons.
Looking at the Tendulkar mania around, Harsha Bhogle asked Sourav Ganguly:
Harsha Bhogle: Do you think Sachin will be more popular than you in that Kolkata Test match?
Ganguly: Yes, but only for those five days!
Turnout !!
India and England were locked in a do-or-die battle at Perth in the tri-series in January 2015. Sourav Ganguly was with Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar in the commentary box. The trio was discussing the low turnout crowd, when Ganguly delivered another gem.
Sunil Gavaskar: The attendance today is 7653.
Sourav Ganguly: We have that attendance in Durga Pooja!
Greg Chappell - Don't Dare to Call me
The Ganguly-Chappell controversy is one of the ugliest ones and the fallout of once close friends is well-documented. Ganguly hasn’t forgiven the former Indian coach yet and he does not hide that behind polite diplomacy. Even Sachin Tendulkar in his book criticised the Australian great and wrote about the harm he had done to Indian cricket. After the launch of Tendulkar’s book, the Chappell subject was discussed by several sections of media and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai shot a direct question to Ganguly.
Rajdeep Sardesai: Does Greg Chappell owe an apology to Indian cricket? To Sachin Tendulkar, to Sourav Ganguly, to Dravid?
Sourav Ganguly: He can call up Tendulkar or Dravid. But he dare not dial my number. If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly.
Ravi Shastri in firing line !
Well, the internet is full of Ravi Shastri jokes and the netizens never miss an opportunity to troll the former Indian cricketer for his commentary clichés. Shastri has a habit of getting cocky, but if you try to do that with Ganguly, you better get ready to be owned.
Ravi Shastri: In Eden Gardens, Kolkata, is there a Ganguly pavilion or Ganguly stand?
Sourav Ganguly: The whole ground belongs to Ganguly!
And here are some serious ones………..
His Marriage
Weeks after his successful tour of England in 1996, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. The bride and groom's family were sworn enemies at that point and this news caused an uproar between them. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997.
Refused to carry drinks?
In 1991-92, Ganguly was a part of the Indian team on the tour to Australia, where he made his one-day debut. That was to be his only international appearance in four years until he made his comeback on the tour to England in 1996. It was alleged that Ganguly had refused to carry drinks, one of the roles of a benched player, on that tour Down Under. Years later, Ganguly denied these suggestions. In an interview to Rediff, “I don’t know where this story has come from. We had a manager on the trip to Australia in 1992, Mr. Ranbir Singh. He is probably the worst guy I have ever seen in my life. It is a shame that we have had managers like him for India on long tours. He was a shame, a shame to Indian cricket.”
Alleged affair with Nagma
In early 2001, as India were getting ready to play Australia at home, there were strong rumours of Ganguly’s alleged affair with actress Nagma. There were murmurs that the two visited a temple in South India and had performed a puja meant for married couples. Through that, Ganguly’s wife Dona stood by her man, telling Sify, “It’s all rubbish. I’m extremely angry at the way some newspapers are trying to defame us. It’s unfortunate that Sourav become the victim of such things.” Ganguly’s father Chandidas even told Times of India that he believed that photographs of the two were altered. Two years down the line, Nagma subtly confirmed the alliance, telling the Savvy magazine, “Whatever one says, nobody has denied anything. As long as there is no denial of each other’s existence in each other’s life, any person can say anything they want. There was a career at stake, besides other things, so one had to part. One had to weigh a lot of things, rather than be on an ego trip and insist on being together.”
Making Steve Waugh wait for the toss
The India-Australia series of 2001 is one of the most interesting contests in recent times. A resurgent Indian side took on the might of the Aussies and triumphed in a dramatic contest. Behind India’s resurgence was the young captain Ganguly, who unlike some of his predecessors, had this knack of unsettling his opponents. During that series, he supposedly reported late for the toss for every game, which irritated the normally cool Steve Waugh. “The fact that he turned up late every game, it was his choice. I just thought it showed a lack of respect for the game. It didn’t really affect me. The match referee actually told him that he had to turn up on time,” PTI quoted Waugh during his visit to India in 2013. Ganguly denied that he was late on every occasion and instead claimed that it occurred only once, when he couldn’t find his blazer. Nevertheless, this story became a part of cricketing folklore, thanks to India’s stunning series triumph.
Shirt-waving at Lord’s
On the hallowed turf at Lord’s, would anyone dare to celebrate by stripping of his shirt to reveal and bare upper body and then wave the shirt? Ganguly did exactly that in 2002. In a dramatic game that saw India chase down 326 to win the NatWest series, Ganguly took off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and waved it in the air as his team celebrated. John Wright wrote in the Indian Summers that Harbhajan Singh had planned the same for the whole team, only to be stopped by Rahul Dravid. That didn’t stop Ganguly as he went for it spontaneously. It was payback for Andrew Flintoff’s similar act at Wankhede Stadium earlier that year after England had beaten India in a tense game.
Grassy surface, Cold feet?
Did Ganguly miss the third Test against Australia at Nagpur in 2004 due to a grassy wicket? This remains a popular conspiracy theory that Ganguly was unhappy with the grass on the surface for the important game and opted out of it. In the lead-up to the game, he was quite vocal about the need to have a surface that helps the home side. However, on the morning of the Test it was announced that Ganguly was not playing due to an injured groin and that Harbhajan Singh was out due to an illness. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, the Australian players who featured in that Test, wrote in their respective autobiographies that they suspected that Ganguly opted out. Hayden wrote in Standing My Ground, “We put their ailments down to acute cases of ‘greentrackitis’, where you develop a severe intolerance to green wickets likely to give you nothing as a spin bowler and plenty of headaches as a batsman.”
The Greg Chappell saga
This is the mother of all Ganguly controversies. In 2005, there was a change of guard in the Indian team management as Greg Chappell took over from John Wright as coach. Ganguly was in the midst of a tough run with the bat and pressure was mounting on him. During the tour to Zimbabwe, Chappell told him quite frankly that the pressure of captaincy was perhaps affecting his batting, in-turn affecting the team. Ganguly hit a laboured ton in the first Test and then told the media that he was asked to resign. The whole controversy then snowballed into a big affair as Greg Chappell wrote an email to the board, detailing a saga of disagreements between him and Ganguly. Soon after the tour, Ganguly was dismissed as captain and dropped from the one-day side. He spent about a year on the sidelines before he regained his spot. It remains one of the most acrimonious times in Indian cricket. Fans in Kolkata did not take this kindly and had cheered for the South African team during an ODI against a Dravid-led Indian side. The Chappell era ended in ignominy as India were knocked out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the first round.
Kolkata Knight Riders and the multiple captaincy
In 2008, crowd favourite Ganguly had captained Kolkata in the inaugural IPL. However, before the second season in South Africa, it was announced that Kolkata were going for an inexplicable “multiple captain” approach. A day before the tournament, Brendon McCullum took charge of the side. Through that, Ganguly looked a lonely figure — many building him up as a victim. This controversy had more to do with the fans than Ganguly himself. The fans hadn’t taken it well and Kolkata were slammed by many. It turned out to be a horror season for them. The Fake IPL player blog also made its appearance. In 2010, Ganguly returned to captain Kolkata, but was not retained the following year — a season he played for the Pune Warriors India.
Bhajji on Dada
Harbhajan Singh has said that in 1998 when he was reported for chucking and was out of the Indian Team, he contemplated migrating to Canada and become a Truck Driver. The future was so bleak for him. At that time Ganguly backed him and asked him keep faith and stay back. Subsequently he was cleared by ICC and the rest is history. Not surprisingly Bhajji has enormous respect and admiration for Dada. The same can be said of Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and many others in whom Dada showed faith and backed them.
May Dada live long and his Dada-giri continue !!
About Me
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