Sehwag, Yuvraj share their memories of Sourav Ganguly-era

Ganguly's former teammates still swear by his leadership and support

ganguly-sehwag-yuvraj-file (File) Sourav Ganguly (left), Yuvraj Singh (centre) and Virender Sehwag during a practice session

Sourav Ganguly is, undoubtedly, the people's captain. His legend as one of India’s finest cricketers and captains keeps growing by the day. The fact that his former teammates still swear by his leadership and support is proof that Ganguly the leader is way ahead of his peers, contemporaries and those who followed in his footsteps.

Ganguly's actions both on and off the field have always been under scrutiny. In his current avatar as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, too, his moves are keenly followed. Will he don the mantle of the BCCI president one day? Or come in a different role to start within the BCCI once its long awaited elections as a reformed body take place? Or will he take the plunge into state politics?

According to his former teammate Virender Sehwag, who owes his transformation from a struggling middle-order batsman to one of the most destructive openers to the former skipper, he will do both. “He (Ganguly) will first become BCCI president and then join politics,” he said without batting an eyelid, in true Sehwag-style.

He was speaking at the launch of Ganguly’s autobiography A century is not enough in New Delhi. Yuvraj Singh—yet another of Ganguly’s protégé who won many a match for India under his captaincy—too, was present.

Ganguly did neither deny nor acknowledge Sehwag’s 'prediction'.

But when it came to the future of Indian cricket, Ganguly was quite sure. “Indian cricket will only get healthier. Look at where we are as a team, the amount of money that cricket rights have brought in recently. The likes of Virat Kohli, M.S. Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane are role models. The game will just go forward. I see the effort from behind the scenes now. The administrators do the job passionately.”

Role models are made when you have talent and the right backing. Ganguly backed Sehwag and Yuvraj to the hilt. “You never get a champion player by holding him back,” said Ganguly.

He revealed national selectors had reservations about selecting the duo. “Selectors didn’t want Sehwag to be sent to South Africa (in 2001). They felt he couldn’t play fast bowling. I insisted he should go,” said the 45-year-old.

On that tour, Sehwag was promoted to open the innings and rest is history.

Yuvraj made an unforgettable debut for the senior Indian team at 19 during the Champions Trophy in Nairobi in 2000. “I had not seen him before the team selection but had heard of his talent. I just saw his bat flow and punch and that was it. Selectors thought he was too young!”

Ganguly described the team he led, which had legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman on one side and young, enthusiastic youngsters like Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra on the other as “a mad max team”!

Sehwag, meanwhile, made an 'interesting' point. “I was the lone risk taker in the team, rest all were....,” a grinning Sehwag left the sentence unfinished.

The evening was a sneak peek into the times when Ganguly was the skipper. There was fun, but also focus and commitment. The players could express their feelings freely, and the captain could tell them what he wanted to without hesitation. At the end of the day, Ganguly the leader was only as good as his team and vice versa.

“Dada (Ganguly) backed us all the way. He told me that I must always aim to play for India. I made my comeback under Dada’s captaincy. We had the protection of the captain,” said Sehwag.

Reflecting on his captaincy, Ganguly said, “I had a wonderful bunch and I just ensured that they played without any pressure. I gave them time to succeed. I wanted to take away the fear of failure from the youngsters because when I had come into the Indian team, I faced that pressure.”

Perhaps, the famous incident at the Lord's balcony in 2002 after India won the NatWest series defines the team culture that existed under Ganguly’s tenure as captain. “Few would have noticed VVS Laxman trying to pull my shirt down. And Harbhajan (Singh) asking me whether he should also remove his shirt. There was diverse culture in the dressing room with Anil (Kumble), Rahul (Dravid) and Laxman on one side and Sourav, Sehwag, Yuvraj and Harbhajan on the other.”

Yuvraj revealed that he too was trying to get his shirt off, in all the excitement. “But I was wearing a T-shirt underneath. Now when I think of it, thank god I was!"

Former BCCI president Anurag Thakur, who was also present at the event, credited Ganguly and his team for instilling the urge to win overseas. “He is the flag-bearer of Indian cricket. He brought attitude and aggression to the dressing room. He did an exceptional job by leading the team soon after the match-fixing controversy (in 2000). It was under his captaincy that the team looked to grow and perform well overseas.”

Though the trio of Ganguly, Sehwag and Yuvraj were asked to comment on cricketing ties with Pakistan, they refused to get “trapped” in the sensitive issue. “It's entirely up to the government,” is all that Ganguly said.