Sourav Ganguly has called time on a remarkable cricket career. It may have taken him five years to earn a Test chance after breaking into the international game, but he quickly metamorphosed from a rich kid fascinated by the game into the best of India’s modern captains.
In backing talented players, he placed nation above regional biases, rarely playing favourites if the cricketer didn’t deserve to be in the international game.
Ganguly’ national outlook was a welcome change from personality and zone-driven politics that plagued Indian cricket for decades until the likes of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi started changing things. His Test captaincy win record of 21 in 49 outings represents a high watermark, and his contribution to India’s new steely approach helped the team reach the pinnacle of Test rankings, but only after Ganguly quit international cricket after a run-in with coach Greg Chappell.
Overcoming his own technical frailties, Ganguly became known as the “God of Offside”, gathering 7,212 Test and 11,363 ODI runs in a graceful batting style he shaped while progressing to become one of the Fab Four — along with Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman. Ever the pragmatist, Ganguly hangs up his first class and IPL boots realising the futility of fighting the ageing process. It’s never easy to leave the arena. But Ganguly has already made a name for fluency behind the TV mike and may even merit a role as an IPL mentor who knows a thing or two about spotting and nurturing talent in cricketers.