"Tu bhi shirt khol de", says Ganguly to Harbhajan
We all do treasure that exuberant instance when India won the historic 2002 Natwest Final against England at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground in London.
The scenes after India winning the final were euphoric, and the excitement levels were too high amidst the Indian team as the then Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, unfastened the Indian jersey and eddied it in the air.
Sourav Ganguly recently had been a part of a web series named 'Breakfast With Champions' hosted by Gaurav Kapoor. At the show, Ganguly recalled his historic celebrations at Lord’s balcony after defeating England in the Natwest series final in 2002.
When Ganguly left VVS and Harbhajan in splits
“I was standing on the right side. VVS Laxman was on my left and Harbhajan Singh was behind my back. So, as I was removing my T-shirt, VVS tried to tell me, ‘Don’t do it, don’t do it!’ After I removed my shirt, Bhajji asked, ' Mai kya karun ab?' (What do I do now?) And I said, ‘Tu bhi khol de!’ (You also remove your shirt)," recalled Ganguly while speaking to Gaurav Kapoor at Breakfast With Champions.
Sourav Ganguly added that it was instinctive and not pre-planned. The left-handed batsman said that the idea just came to his mind moments after India chased down the mammoth total of 325 runs. “The idea came to my mind just at the moment. I remembered how Andrew Flintoff took off his shirt at Wankhede to celebrate a 3-3 series draw before, and I just thought why not do the same at Lord’s,” continued the former Indian captain.
However, Ganguly maintained that he feels a bit embarrassed while looking back at the incident. “But I am also embarrassed about the incident. My daughter once asked, ‘Why did you do that? Is it necessary in cricket?’ And I had to tell her that ‘No, I did it once by mistake’," rested Ganguly.
When Ganguly sacrificed his spot and promoted MS Dhoni up the order
Sourav Ganguly went on to explain how he spotted a talented batsman in MS Dhoni and sacrificed his place to promote Dhoni up the order. “MS came in 2004. He batted at No. 7. We went to Vizag (in 2005) against Pakistan. In the meeting, I was thinking how to make him a player. Because I recognized he was very strong. I told him, ‘MS, go and bat at No. 3.’ And he asked, ‘And you?’ And I told him, ‘I will bat at No. 4, you go above me’.” He went ahead and scored a century in that match.”