Saurav Ganguly has announced that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the upcoming home test series against Australia. In cricinfo, Dileep Premachandran says Ganguly’s enduring legacy will be that of a leader who took Indian cricket out of its feudal past.
Saurav Ganguly. / Reuters photo
In the end, the timing of the retirement was as impeccable as the strokes through cover with which he captivated the game’s aficionados in his heyday. Sourav Ganguly’s career will be defined by the games he played, and didn’t play, against Australia, and he will relish the chance to be part of an Indian side that has the opportunity to equal the feats of the team he led so famously seven years ago. As last stands go, this could be a memorable one.
Assuming he plays all four matches, Ganguly will finish with 113 Test caps. After his maiden tour with the Indian team – to Australia in 1991-92 – ended with an unfavourable report from a manager who would subsequently go on to be the BCCI president, even one cap must have seemed a distant dream. When we look back at the furore that accompanied his selection for the tour of England in 1996, it says more about the mindset of the time than it does about Ganguly the cricketer.
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‘I think I have taken the right decision’
Sourav Ganguly speaks to The Telegraph, Calcutta
Q: But why two days before the series?
A: I just wanted it off my back… I can understand the feelings of well-wishers, but I think I’ve taken the right decision. At the right time too. (After a pause) I couldn’t have carried on playing like this (always being under scrutiny)… I hope you’ll understand.
Q: How did you feel when you left the media conference after going public with your decision?
A: Felt light.
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He left with his head held high.
Cheers!