Sourav Ganguly, Farewell!

Sourav Ganguly’s retirement announcement has come amidst expectation and hope: expectation for people who don’t support him, and hope for people like me, who has been praying that he makes a proper comeback!

Dada, as he is known to his teammates and to his scores of fans all around India and the world, has been a phenomenal player and a phenomenal captain, too. He made his debut in Lords in 1996 along with Rahul Dravid under the captaincy of Mohd. Azharuddin, and scored 100 in his debut.

From that time on, Dada never did look back.

Very soon the southpaw from Kolkata, also known as the "Prince of Kolkata," found himself handling the Indian captaincy, and he did so with aplomb.

Dada was one player who blended aggressiveness, exuberance, and enthusiasm in the game, which until then was unknown to Indian cricket.

One instance of his aggressiveness was when India won the last and the decisive final against England in the Nat West trophy (2006). Dada could be seen removing his shirt and swinging it, the way a farmer does with a sling!

He was a player who played each game more with the heart than with the mind. A player who encouraged talent. A player who was left out of the squad, but didn’t lose hope, then rectified his mistake to make a comeback, thereby silencing his critics!

Many of the players in the current Indian squad are there because of Ganguly.

Statistically, he is the most successful captain in the history of Indian cricket, and probably will be for years to come. He is the one responsible for the Indian cricket team reaching the finals of the 2003 World Cup.

He has not only handled criticism, but also controversies—controversies which have marred his entire cricketing career.

Dada also holds the record (along with Tendulkar, Dravid, Ponting, and others) for scoring more than 10000 runs in ODIs.

He is the iconic player (captain) for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and he leads the team the way he did for India. Seeing him do that brings a strong sense of nostalgia!

Today, Dada might not be an important member in Indian cricket, but his achievement can never be looked down upon. He might be ignored today, but there was a time when the Indian cricket team needed Dada to save them from precarious situations and he never disappointed.

Now, as Dada retires, the cricket fraternity will start commenting, “He did this, he did that,” but what he actually did can never be expressed in words. It is totally indescribable!