An ode to Ganguly Dada – “the great divide” of Indian Cricket
November 10th, 2008He entered with style, made a comeback in style and left in style, leaving people asking for more. There are a bagful of achievements to his credit but what Sourav Chandidas Ganguly will be remembered most for is the revolutionary change in mindset he brought to Indian cricket and Indian cricketers.
Previously when Indian teams walked on to the turf outside the sub-continent, everyone thought that a draw would be a more than satisfactory result. It was Sourav who inspired his men into playing fearless cricket and it is his legacy that Mahendra Singh Dhoni carries forward.
Tears barely escaped surfacing as an emotional “Maharaja” crossed the rope one last time in the India jersey at Nagpur. It was a befitting gesture from Dhoni to let Sourav lead the side for the last few overs. As a fan of cricket in general and Indian team in particular it was nice to see the younger lot acknowledge the contribution and achievements of the seniors.
Some news channel reported that the team will be throwing a big party for Dada at the team hotel and that Dhoni had also exchanged his Captain’s suite at the team hotel with Ganguly’s. It is a small but sweet gesture but one that would seldom cross minds of most people in the world.
He deserves every bit of it. After all he is the man who has the biggest hand in the state of happy affairs that Indian cricket finds itself today in. We have always had the talent but players have lacked the tenacity and the aggressive attitude required to tumble tough opponents. Ganguly instilled this tenacity and the self belief that, “Yes we can”.
IPL 2008 | IPL Gallery | IPL Videos | IPL Toolbar
While his famous T-shirt furling act at the Lords’ balcony demonstrated the tit for tat aggression he stood for, his persistence to include Harbhajan in the 2001 test series against Australia accounted for the belief he had in himself and his men. He provided impetus with attacking shots at the head as India were about to rewrite history with their successful chase of England’s 325 at Lords in the Natwest final.
People may remember him as the “Leader par excellence” and the “God of the off side” but equal charisma lay in his effortless clearing of the fence especially the demolition with disdain of left arm bowlers.
He may have retired and might not be a part of the Indian dressing room but for us Dada is not a cricketer but a phenomenon which will run with the Indian team till they are ready to play aggressive and ready to take the bull by the horns and whenever they say, “Yes we can”.
Mohit Goyal
http://goyalmohit.blogspot.com
Posted in Cricket News |