Happy Birthday, ‘Dada’ Sourav Ganguly: A personal note on an one of a kind skipper & player

 Sourav Ganguly or ‘Dada’ as hes fondly called by fans, well-wishers and his countless admirers was truly an one of kind skipper & player. Just to put this into complete context, for a generation of followers of the game, Indian cricket couldn’t have been at a lower ebb when Sourav Ganguly became their skipper.

The massive outrage that led to then skipper and a fine batsmen, probably among the best Indian batsman; Mohammad Azharuddin's life ban after his involvement in the infamous match-fixing scandal that shook world cricket. I was probably 10-11 years old at that time & for me the scandal came as a shock but it didn’t alter my love for the game one bit.

India’s evolution under the Sourav Ganguly-John Wright combination

The complete Indian team setup looked different post 2000, with Ganguly leading the side and we had a relatively unknown, yet highly spoken & rated John Wright as the coach. Everyone including me were wondering, what can this combination do for Indian cricket?

 As I hadn’t seen or heard of so many people drifting away from the sport as much as the match-fixing scandal made them to. It was not just about lifting Indian cricket higher up in the rankings but to rebuild lost trust in the beautiful game: Cricket.

Such was the challenge ahead of them that Ganguly had two paths; one was to try and fade away as yet another captain who couldn’t achieve much or else make a difference, statement through his style of leadership and mentorship. ‘Dada’ chose the second path and I would be ever grateful to him for doing so!

A lot has been written about the era under Ganguly, but what I want to say as someone who was completely & truly invested in Indian cricket in that 6-7 years post 2000. Such was the impact that particular team had on me as a Cricket fanatic and I am sure it would resonate with a lot of 90s kids reading this piece!

Memories, a lot of fond memories courtesy Sourav ‘Dada’

I can still fondly remember how Sourav Ganguly the bowler excelled in the Sahara Cup against Pakistan at Toronto Canada in 1997/1998. Also on what was a truly torrid tour down-under in 1999/2000, Ganguly’s stroke filled 141 against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval is still very fresh in my memory!

And of course how can one not mention the iconic celebrations at the Lords after India truly announced themselves on the world stage; beating England in their home turf! Let’s just say what we see with the slump in the competitiveness and skill set in Sri Lankan cricket over the past few years was how India’s team was in the early 2000s: some formidable names surrounded by complete novices who were ready to prove a point, but needed the right amount of guidance & support to grow as players. 

I could get into complete detail about the memories I have from Sourav Ganguly’s era and the players who made them extra special but the focus for this piece has to be on the impact ‘Dada’ has made, so will not go into that much detail here.

The transformation of the perception of Indian cricket across the world

The need of the hour at that time was to have a leader who could help India compete especially when they toured overseas. Such was the expectations, but over the course of his captaincy stint, ‘Dada’ changed how the world started perceiving Indian cricket! From meekly surrendering to oppositions earlier to dominating & fighting overseas, India were certainly no push-overs!

Post the horrid tour down-under in 2000, India won in England, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies under Sourav Ganguly. Some of the iconic wins in Pakistan or at the Adelaide Oval in 2003 is still celebrated but largely the magnitude of the achievement hasn’t been given complete justice, or at least that's what I feel. 

A large part of that is due to two factors: Players who ensured those successes got their due share of credit, and not much media time was dedicated to Sourav's captaincy on those epic tours & Indian cricket fan's fascination for series wins or trophies. 

Yes, India didn’t go on to win a series in a SENA country in Ganguly’s stint as a leader, so now in 2021 probably he may pale in comparison to the leaders post him as they have ICC trophies in their kitty or they have gone on to achieve unparalleled success overseas, something that evaded Sourav Ganguly- the leader.

A final note, a passing thought on how I would like people to perceive Sourav Ganguly & his achievements

I would want all the readers to take the following points as takeaways from this article:

1. Appreciate what Sourav Ganguly the batsman and skipper has done for Indian cricket. Look at at the resources he had and what he went on to achieve with them.

2.  A big part of India’s transformation even should we say BCCI’s is due to Sourav Ganguly. Hes ensured that Women’s cricket gets it fair due, yes maybe he has made some changes too late but at least acknowledge the fact that as BCCI president he’s ensured Indian women’s team play a Test match after a long gap of eight years. 

3. You may have your favorites but don’t forget where it started from. What captains after ‘Dada’ managed to achieve, was primarily because of the seeds sown by Ganguly’s men. And full credit to the people who followed him for ensuring they build on what’s provided to them.

4. And finally, hopefully fans of Indian cricket will have a broader image and memory of Sourav Ganguly than just his infamous spat with Greg Chappell. Ganguly: The batsman, skipper and now the administrator should only be talked about and not that one year which continues to leave a bad impression about Team India.

On that note, here’s wishing Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly a happy, healthy and awesome 49^th birthday! Thanks for all the memories of your time as India’s skipper; a phase that has truly shaped how the team is now: Confident, courageous, dominant and successful!