Finally, Ganguly has to say goodbye

So, Sourav Ganguly is quitting cricket after the current India-Australia series. This is what he announced yesterday. There were rumours buzzing round that the former skipper and the selection committee chairman, K Shrikant had a behind the wall agreement to pave the way for Ganguly to have a grand and honourable exit. Whatever be the dealing behind the scene, Ganguly has finally decided to call it a day.

With this, we are going to see an end of an era, a chequered career spanning 16 years though Ganguly started playing international cricket in 1996. In this period, he accomplished great success – in Indian and abroad – and went to become the most successful captain that Indian could produce. He is credited with taking Indian cricket to new dimensions where winning rather defending, as has been the case earlier barring a few exceptions, hallmark of Team India. It was Ganguly who, due to his aggressive and able leadership, brought glory to the nation. Many would not forget how Ganguly took off his cloth when India won NatWest Trophy final in England in 2004.

On the personal level, he played 109 Tests and 311 ODIs with 6,888 and 11,363 runs respectively. Sourav, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed by far the most successful opening pair in One Day. Captained India in a record 49 Test matches and won 21 matches, which is record by an Indian skipper. He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs. In 2004, he was awarded the Padma Shri.

In spite of all this, Ganguly’ career has been mired with controversy and it all started when Greg Chappell emerged on the scene. While ignoring Ganguly’s stand, the BCCI, along with the selection committee always supported Chappell, rather than its most successful skipper. But in the battle of see-saw, Ganguly always won, as once dropped from the Indian squad, he made a grand comeback.

But why this situation? And who is responsible for this? Why is Ganguly singled out every time? Perhaps many people in the selection committee and the BCCI do not support the ex-skipper, while they extend blind faith in Sachin, Dravid and others.

However, Ganguly has made the right decision to quit with honour and pave the way for others to step in the shoes. It is a wake up call for other seniors as well.