I will lead BCCI the way I led Indian cricket team and focus will be on providing a corruption-free administration: Sourav Ganguly
On Wednesday, 23rd October 2019 When Sourav Ganguly takes over the charge of President of The Board of Control for cricket in India he will reach a new feat adding a new chapter to his professional career. Though the new responsibility is not easier to shoulder yet one can trust the August leadership of the Prince of Kolkata who never quits easily and whose robust command gave Indian Team a new Identity in World cricket with many successes and a few defeats . Sourav Ganguly, the man who is profoundly known for his aggressive attitude in the ground and a bold decision maker that India always needed has achieved everything a Cricket player could have wished and the most seminal fact is, he is still a Significant man in Indian Cricket . But the journey and milestones have always compelled this Indian skipper to sweat and dedicate himself for Cricket and none can deny that the great monument Mr Ganguly has built is only the result of a strong foundation carved out of struggle , patience , hard labour and his love for Cricket . Let’s have a read :
Football and family :-
Born to one of the richest families in Calcutta Sourav Ganguly had an epicurean childhood prompting his friends to adorn him with the nickname of ‘ the maharaja’. Ganguly in his early days was fond of playing football as other Bengalis were, as football being the favourite sport among them and the tradition still continues today, the city of joy has a huge fan base of soccer lovers .Though his mother didn’t want her youngest son to opt any sport as a career but Ganguly’s dream of being a master class cricketer was cherished by his elder brother Snehasis Ganguly who then was an established cricketer, playing for Bengal and by virtue of his brother Ganguly was enrolled in a cricket coaching during his summer vacations when he was in class 10th. He led St Xavier’s school team and very soon he became a renowned southpaw batter with hard hitting capability. Riding the successes one by one In 1989 he was included in Bengal cricket team, his debut in domestic cricket .
Domestic & international career : -
Impressed by Ganguly’s bountiful show in Ranji season 1990-91 the selectors relied on his talent and finally he was selected for Australian triangular CB series, being played in Australia. On Jan 11, 1992 Ganguly played his first ODI against West Indies under captaincy of M Azharuddin and batting at Number 6 he scored just 3 runs off 13 ball. India had lost that match by 6 wickets and in the same match Sachin Tendulkar was the highest scorer with a great knock of 77 runs off 127 balls. The long wait, the dream of playing for India was ruined in jus 13 balls and the debut match turned out to be a devil and brought nothing else than a grim situation with immediate sacking of Ganguly from the national cricket team. This series was disastrous for him , not only his bat but even his behaviour and lack of respect for senior players was also under scanner and it was rumoured thatduring the tour he refused to carry the drinks saying ‘ it's not my job to do so’. But the swashbuckling Ganguly was not a man to let it go without a struggle and with no taste of success in international career.The young batsman travailed all day long in practice and in Ranji season 1993-94-95 his bat owned a plethora of runs. In 1995-96 he played a magnificent inning of 171 in Duleep trophy Catching the eye of selectors, he successfully made his way to national cricket team when he was included in India’s tour of England in 1996. There he played his 2nd ODI after almost 4.5 yrs and scored 43 of 83 balls, bowled 2 overs conceding 14 runs but he was again dropped in the 1st test of 3 test match series.The destiny favoured Ganguly when he got a chance to replace Navjot singh Siddhu who had returned to India citing ill treatment by then captain Azharuddin and Ganguly made his test debut at Lords cricket ground. His test debut proved to be a miracle when he hit a maiden ton scoring 131 runs with 20 fours spending 435 minutes on the pitch before being bowled by English medium pacer AD Mullally, this remarkable inning made him the only 3rd batsman in world to make a century in his 1st test at the Mecca of cricket ‘ the Lords’. The bravo continued his show in 2nd match also and inning after inning, match after match Ganguly proved himself by his bat as well as a team player.
Marriage ,Captaincy & Controversies :
Ganguly married his childhood friend Dona Roy which was formally held in February 1997. In 1997 Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century against Srilanka which remained his favourite team only next to Pakistan. A brisk 183 during 1999 World Cup the highest ODI score of Ganguly was against Srilanka that every Indian remembers. In 1999 Ganguly ended up with 5 ODI century and occupied the Top position in One day batting.
In 2000 Ganguly was appointed the captain of Indian cricket team and who can forget the final of Natwest Trophy when Sourav Ganguly took off his t shirt to celebrate India’s victory at Lords. In 2003 World Cup Sourav Ganguly led the Indian team from the front with 3 hundreds and in his masterpiece captaincy India reached the final after 20 yrs , though his decision to ball first was criticised but the bravo show by captain boosted India’s confidence and the spirit to fight was much contributed by Ganguly .The controversy of his feud with Indian cricket coach Greg Chappel was reported by many newspapers but he personally distant himself from making any comment on the issue. In his captaincy India played 49 test matches and witnessed victory in 21 and lost 13 while in ODI out of 146 under his leadership India won in 76 matches which claims the success story of the master of off side batting in world cricket .Then Captain MSD had requested Ganguly to lead the Indian side in farewell match of Ganguly as a token of respect to one of the tallest players in world cricket and a heroic captain who served India with all possible efforts he could do. Though he played for different franchises in IPL but his bat could not flood the runs as expected and ultimately he was sidelined from IPL. Ganguly was favourite of Cricket administrative tycoon Jagmohan Dalmia and before being elected as the president of BCCI he worked as president of CAB. The time will tell how the fate of BCCI changes but one can hope the future of Control Board is in the safe hands of India’s marvellous captain . Being vocal and always suggesting the apt for cricket Ganguly always remained one of the most important pillars of Indian cricket reforms.
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