Birthday special: 3 times Sourav Ganguly was a 'Dada' off the field
Few personalities in Indian cricket have polarized opinions like Sourav Ganguly. While some have described his charisma as arrogance his brilliance as captain and his batsmanship cannot be questioned.
Within a few years of taking over the team's management, Ganguly transformed Indian cricket. He reshaped the squad from an insignificant Test-playing team away from home to a team that would challenge even the best in the world.
Prior to taking over as skipper, the current BCCI president made a name for himself as one of the most dominant batters the nation had ever seen.
Here's wishing former #TeamIndia Captain and current BCCI President @SGanguly99 a very happy birthday. 👏 🎂 https://t.co/H0mWChTgSd
In his 15-year career, the swashbuckling left-hander played 424 international games and amassed 18,575 runs, including 107 half-centuries and 38 tons. Famously known as the 'Dada' of cricket, Ganguly was perhaps the most intimidating Indian player during his career and never shied away from any challenge.
On the occasion of his 50th birthday today (July 8), let's look at three times Ganguly was a 'Dada' off the field.
#3. A befitting reply to Geoffrey Boycott
Grew up hearing Geoffrey Boycott call Sourav Ganguly - “The Prince of Calcutta”.
Awesome to see them in one frame and that too at Lord’s! https://t.co/hU7li15NWv
The renowned Lord's Stadium in London is regarded as the home of cricket. English commentators have stated numerous times that the ground is the mecca of cricket.
Would someone have the audacity to celebrate on the sacred Lord's turf by removing his shirt to display his shirtless upper body and waving it around? That's exactly what Ganguly performed in 2002.
Ganguly removed his shirt and waved it in the air as his team cheered on a tense match that saw India chase down 326 to win the NatWest series. It was retaliation for Andrew Flintoff's actions at the Wankhede Stadium earlier in the year, following England's thrilling victory over India.
Geoffrey Boycott, one of England's all-time greats, once recalled Ganguly's shirt-waving moment at the 'Mecca of Cricket' which resulted in him getting a befitting reply from Dada.
During a commentary stint, Boycott said:
“You (Ganguly) must mention your experience about taking your jersey off and flying it in the air at the Mecca of Cricket: Lord’s! Oh, you naughty boy!”
Ganguly recalled the Flintoff incident and replied:
"One of your boys also took off his jersey here in Mumbai.”
Boycott then referred to Lord's as the mecca of cricket and said:
"Yeah, but Lord’s is the Mecca of cricket."
Ganguly fittingly replied:
"Lord’s is your Mecca, and Wankhede is ours!"
#2. "If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly”
Sourav Ganguly makes fresh revelations on the infamous Greg Chappell saga
zeenews.india.com//cricket/soura… https://t.co/0u32WZnzBx
In 2005, there was a change of guard in the Indian team management as Greg Chappell took over from John Wright as coach.
Following a series of incidents between Dada and Chappell, the controversy then snowballed into a big affair as the latter wrote an email to the board, detailing a saga of disagreements between him and Ganguly. India were eliminated in the first round of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, marking a humiliating end to the Chappell era.
Ganguly's aggressiveness was evident in everything he did, both on and off the field. He was once questioned about the Greg Chappell controversy by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, who asked:
"Does Greg Chappell owe an apology to Indian cricket? To Sachin Tendulkar, to Sourav Ganguly, to Dravid?”
Ganguly responded:
“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.”
#3. What if Ganguly was a Prime Minister?
Two of India's renowned batters, Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, shared a great camaraderie, on and off the pitch. However, the two have also had a history of having disagreements between them.
In a commentary spell during India's tour of England in 2014, the two veterans were involved in some friendly banter.
Throughout his career, Ganguly didn't bowl extended spells and wasn't the quickest between the wickets. Sledging his former skipper for his infamous fitness during his career, Dravid said:
"If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner."
Replying to what Dravid said, Dada profoundly stated:
"I wish I was the Prime Minister of India, I could have done a whole lot of things.”
The two veterans continued their war of words before acknowledging each other's massive contributions to Indian cricket.