Needless to mention the fact that Sourav Ganguly is perhaps one of the biggest blessings the Indian Cricket team had. He not only changed and upgraded the team. But the most crucial fact is, he himself rose and changed the team while he was upgrading himself and his way of playing. Sourav is one of the reasons today, Team India is at such a peak level when it comes to international cricket.
It was definitely not easy for Sourav to build a team so strong, they’ll be ready for international exposure. He himself did target removed from the national team due to his low phase where the team and he didn’t deliver good games. But still being the captain of the team, the entire responsibility to build the team from scratch was on him, and he did not disappoint anyone. Except for the opponent losing team, of course.
He gave a lot of chances to players during their dark phases to proves themselves. And most of them turned out to be an absolute asset for the team. Only if he didn’t give the chances to the one deserving, some of them would have been aloof from the list of international cricket. Making them seem nonexistent.
Below is the list of cricketers whom left Sourav Ganguly supported:
1. Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag has been praised for his batting skills. The player is not only an excelled and a fine one, but he’s also a very fearless and confident one. He never got involved in any kind of unnecessary drama and didn’t become the talk of the cricket town for that as well. All he focused on was his games, as he was expected to.
Sehwag did go through a tough dark phase when it comes to his sports. Though he was struggling to have a spot for himself in the cricket team and was getting absolutely submerged due to the terrible lineups created during the match. Dada gave away his opening lineup to him and trusted him to take the charge on the behalf of the entire team.
At that moment no one had faith and the team members actually went against Dada for his decision-making when it came to Sehwag. But that game was actually a fate changer for the player and for the entire team. He was finally able to show off his real skills The end score during that match was pretty awesome too. South Africa fell victim to his menacing turn in the Champions Trophy.
2. Yuvraj Singh
One of the main reasons why India performed so well and racked up two whole World Cups. But that’s just the good and the sunshine side of the cricketer. Most of us don’t know the real backstory. Ranging from his performance during the innings on a match against England in the Natwest finals to his Stuart Board.
Yuvraj never really disappointed the team, audiences, and the nation. But this happened just because Sourav had his faith in him. Sourav gave him the opportunities where he was able to flourish and prove how much of a good player he is. It was a treat for the eyes of the people since Yuvraj always played like a beast and most of the matches where he performed led out as a victory for team India.
3. Harbhajan Singh
Even if you are unaware of anything that goes around the cricket world. You should be knowing what a brilliant off-spinner Harbhajan is. He changed the game for the entire team with his skills. And he was one of the closest wars of Sourav during their days. Sourav blindly trusted him and let him embrace his skills during min and very pressurized game parts where victory was most unlikely for India.
His hat-trick which cannot be forgotten by any Indian, to the classic bhangra when they won the World Cup, Ganguly never gave up on Singh and that was probably the best decision made by him. Except for him joining cricket and changing the game pace of course.
4. Ashish Nehra
One of the finest left-arm spinners on the team. He mastered and has performed in all kinds of games when it comes to cricket. Not only that, in an interview which happened recently, he revealed there that due to accidents during his games and practice times, he has been injured plenty of times. Those injuries led up to him getting more than 12 surgeries to fix them. This not only shows how diligent he is when it comes to his games but also the fact that he loves cricket very dearly, no matter how much backlogs and pain he suffers sometimes.
Since the time Srinath bowed out of the game, India started relying on the youth player and cricketers. Though it was a risky step, since the players didn’t really get much exposure when it comes to international cricket, apparently it was worth the risk.
Going along the fact that he has undergone plenty of injures that created a hurdle when it comes to his career. But Sourav always supported him and his decisions and never did he ever lose faith in him. Which makes him stand out even more.
5. Ajit Agarkar
He is a former cricketer and a very famous commentator. Though most of the cricketers after their retirement chose commentary as their career path, just like that Ajit chose the same. He has by far represented India in more than 200 matches and he didn’t disappoint in most of the matches.
He wasn’t much of an all-rounder, but Sourav made him bring out the best in what he was good at. That was the highlight of the entire period of time he played since he wasn’t doubted by the captain. He was a little expensive than others when it came to his inclination towards wickets but that made him leave a mark in the heart of the cricketing world forever.
