The tangible impact Sourav Ganguly left as a former Indian captain, even after more than a decade, shine bright with the same vividity and resplendency. In his distinguished career as a cricketer, he gave Indian fans too many moments to relish. One that undoubtedly stands the sands of time is the triumph over England in NatWest Trophy final in 2002.
Chasing a mammoth target of 326, India were at one stage five wickets down at 146. The defeat looked almost certain for Team India. However, two young guns- Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif- played a match-defining knock to script a historical win for Indian cricket. Although Yuvraj and Kaif were the ones to stage a surreal comeback, Ganguly stole the show by taking off and waving his blue T-shirt from the balcony of Lord’s. This scene needs no introduction to cricket fanatics.
On the show ‘Dada Opens with Mayank,’ hosted by a current Indian opener Mayank Agarwal, the BCCI President was asked about who would wave off his shirt if a contemporary batch of players were part of that iconic match in London. Ganguly came up with a pretty straightforward answer, saying, “All of You.”
“This generation is a completely different generation. I see all of your involvement on Instagram. Obviously when we were growing up, there was no social media. I love the way how they train with their cameras on. Whether they are doing the bench press or whether they are doing pushups, everything is out there in the public,” Ganguly said.
The 45-year old further remarked that in his days, the only other player from Team India audacious enough to wave off his shirt at Lord’s balcony would have been Harbhajan Singh.
“So, I would have been surprised if anyone would have not agreed to do so. In my generation, only two were ready to do it – myself and Harbhajan Singh.”
