Dada Tata

After hearing the news of saurav's retirement I am really a happy person. :) People who know me may find it hard to believe this but please go through my article written last year before the Chinnaswamy test.

Come Saturday to Chinnaswamy and it will be Dada's 99th Test Match. One year back no one ever thought that Saurav will be crossing 6000 runs or playing 100 tests. But the way he came back to the team has been really Sauravish(inspiring). If you consider last year in Test Matches he has been India's most consistent batsman. He has also inspired the team to perform. Whenever Saurav got runs in the longer format after his comeback it has given immense joy because it reminded of those days when friends thought that he is finished but true gangulians (ganguly fans) always backed him.

During early days of first class cricket he had to come out of the shadows of his elder brother and did that very fast and became part of the 1991-92 tour down under. He got limited opportunities there and faded away. He was not as talented as his contemporaries and the media made a huge cry when he was selected in the sixteen for the 96 tour of England on the weight of runs he scored for Bengal. In the media as far I remember it was only Ravi shastri who supported his selection. There were all sorts of theories flying round on this selection. The problem, which the team had during the tour helped him make his debut along with another India great in the Lords test and the rest, is history. In the next three-four years he established himself as an opening batsman in ODI's. He contributed in ODI's more than in tests, which gave him the breakthrough.

Then came the biggest controversy, which has rocked Indian cricket in 2000. This gave an opportunity for Saurav and he embraced it with both arms. He was made captain of an young indian side. He inspired players by backing them during their hard days and got rich rewards. One of the major obstacle which team India has faced over the years was that they don't win overseas test matches. Ganguly began to change those in his days as captain. He has to be given some credit for the tests, which India won in the post Ganguly era too. He was really aggressive those days and lead from the front. He gave tit for tat replies to the opposition, which was also new from an Indian captain.

Then came the phase where he lost his form. A controversy with the coach and loss of form lead his way out of the team. Many would have retired from international cricket at that juncture. Even the best cricketer the country has seen also publicly stated that he would have resigned had he been subjected to what Ganguly has been subjected. But Ganguly being Ganguly never thought of giving up. He went back to his den in kolkata and started the revival. Bengal reached the Ranji Final that year.

There was a change in the selection panel and the new chairman was not as rigid as the old one. Last year in South Africa Saurav got a lifeline and he inspired India to win their first test in South Africa. He has scored runs in each and every test series after that. The new Ganguly has shown lot of maturity and calmness without getting involved in controversies. It would be really interesting to see when he calls his day in international cricket. I would personally prefer him to stop playing ODI's in Australia and then play test cricket for about one more year and then call it a day.

To be contd.