Happy Birthday Sourav Ganguly: 3 biggest masterstrokes in his captaincy career
If there is a captain who holds a special place in Indian cricket, it has to be Sourav Ganguly, whose captaincy tenure has got to be one of the most chronicled ones in recent times. Affectionately known as Dada, he celebrated his 51st birthday on July 8.
It was he who sowed the seeds of fighting fire with fire against the opponents. Ganguly took over the captaincy of Indian cricket at a tumultuous time, in the wake of the 1999 match-fixing saga.
He, along with the support of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Anil Kumble, managed to forge a team that was formidable at home and competitive on overseas tours, which was not the case prior to that.
In this article, we will discuss some of the decisions Sourav Ganguly took during his captaincy stint, which later proved to be masterstrokes in changing the complexion of Indian cricket.
3 biggest masterstrokes in Sourav Ganguly's captaincy career
#3 No more timid approach
Sourav Ganguly changed the attitude of Indian cricket. He emphasized the need to be fearless and led by example in this aspect. His ability to get under the skin of the opponents spread like wildfire in his teammates' attitudes, and they were no longer a timid side who only looked to participate.
Under him, the players started to believe in themselves and developed a never-die attitude. Under his captaincy, India started winning overseas tests, as well as ODIs.
It would be an understatement to say that it was Ganguly who introduced the Indian cricket team to the brand of aggressive cricket, self-belief, and winning abroad.
#2 Aborting regional bias to incorporate young blood and backing them
It was not an uphill task for Sourav Ganguly when he took over the reins of Indian cricket, as fans had trust issues with the team after the match-fixing scandal in 1999.
He had the core of the team with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, and Javagal Srinath, but had to rebuild the side from scratch.
He decided to go against the traditional route of picking players from big, first-class teams like Mumbai, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, etc., which used to be the norm in those days.
He preferred talent over regions, and even players with unorthodox techniques were drafted into the side.
Sourav Ganguly, under his captaincy, brought in U-19 World Cup stars like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif and reintroduced players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, and MS Dhoni despite selectors not zeroing in on them.
He also made sure that the youngsters got a longer rope, as he believed in throwing players in at the deep end and making them fight up front, and backing them in case of failure.
#1 Promoting MS Dhoni at 3
If there's one decision in Indian cricketing history that completely changed its dynamics, it was the promotion of MS Dhoni to No. 3 in ODIs.
Dhoni didn't have a great outing in his debut series against Bangladesh in 2004, as all he managed to score was 0, 12*, and 7, and it seemed like his career ended then and there. However, Ganguly kept his trust in the youngster and decided to give him another opportunity in the next series against Pakistan at home.
The first match again turned out to be a nightmare for the Jharkhand lad, as he registered another single-digit score.
But then came the Vizag ODI, where, to everyone's surprise, Ganguly promoted Dhoni to No. 3, and the rest is history. He scored a magnificent 148, and India found its new wicketkeeper-batsman.
Dhoni went on to lead the side to great heights, winning three ICC titles: the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.