Confessions of a Sourav Ganguly fanatic

I still remember the day. 5th May 2012. Dusk was long gone and evening had set in. The scoreboard on the TV read 25 to win from 13 balls. No, it wasn’t that tough, it really wasn’t, more so when T-20 cricket reigns supreme in modern world. In ten minutes or so the match would come to a foregone conclusion. I clearly remember how I bowed down and acknowledge this man who had been my idol since I was a kid. How I had tried to imitate him playing left handed and copying his stance as the famous Bengali song “Jodi tor dak sune keu na aase tobe ekla cholo re” reverberated around the whole of Eden Gardens when he was caught out, I was reliving the nostalgic memories associated with my idol. As I deleted the my middle name “Gangulian” on facebook, I couldn’t help back my tears. I was there sitting still gazing into oblivion and the emptiness of the surroundings bear hugged me in a tight grip. Why had I gone so emotional ? Has this man done anything for me or had I benefited anything from him ? I was in no mood to give the answer.

He was the one responsible for the fact that I had argued with my tuition teacher; he was the one for whom I had even blasted my fiancée and he was the very one from whom I had launched a verbal tirade against my best of pals.

Some people term him as the God of the off-side while others call him a phoenix. Some take pride in his immense leadership capabilities; some say he is the most beloved son of Bengal. His achievements form stories of several Management Gurus to which students listen in awe and admiration. Others portray him as a world beater while my younger brother calls him “Maharaja of Indian Cricket”. Some say and believe he is the greatest captain ever of the Indian Cricket Team while others call him a legend and praise his attitude to form a world beating side with a bunch of talented yet directionless individuals. My friends on facebook relate him to “The Godfather” and say he took Indian Cricket to the pinnacles of glory when it was at its lowest ebb. I term him my inspiration, my motivator.

I am not an ordinary cricket fan. I have lost quite a few friends defending my idol and I have been branded an egoist and made a hate figure by fans of other icons. But I can’t help it and I really don’t want to. From blasting the umpire’s decision to give him out lbw on a duck when he was quite clearly plumb in front, to supporting oppositions whenever he was dropped for non cricketing reasons, I had done it all. Something which no sane person would ever do. I know there is no end to it and neither have I tried to help the cause. After all , I am not a fan anymore ;I have started calling myself Sourav Ganguly fanatic and I am bloody proud of it.

The team was falling like a pack of cards but his mesmerizing cover drives and square cuts made me feel as if I was watching two different Cricket matches at the same time. Dubbed as a “quota player” since his debut in 1992, Dada, as he is affectionately called, announced his arrival on the international stage in the summer of 1996 at Lords. I was quite young back but fables have no age. They are ageless and so was Sourav Ganguly’s love of his bat. He always let his bat do the talking and more so with his leadership abilities when he was given the captaincy.

Taking and mincing criticism was his own of life. He responded with his bat and aggression. They say believing in yourself wins you half the battle. He instilled a sense of belief in his players, giving them the confidence to perform at twice their potential. His stubborn attitude and spiky aggression had forced to make Steve Waugh wait at the toss at his home ground gave a belief to the players which had been missing. India were not called Lions of their Den and cats overseas not for a reason. It takes a Sourav Ganguly to change the misconception. From halting the Steve Waugh-led world conquering Australian team to taming the Mighty Proteas in their own backyard and coming back from the other side of the Wagah Border with the winner’s trophy – Dada had overseen it all.

His fall of grace after the ugly spat with Greg Chappell to making his comeback by bagging the title of the highest runscorer continuously for India matches after matches, series after series is a testimony to his greatness. Its not his runs or his square cuts or his massive sixes that delights me whenever my chips are down; its his attitude coupled with his aggression gives me boundless joy. Why else would I feel elated when he took his shirt off at The Mecca? Why does his decision of handing Rahul Dravid the wicket keeping gloves in the World Cup of 2003 to play an extra player or his huddle speech sends down an electric surge down my spine? Regarding his enormous talent spotting abilities, ask Yuvraj , Harbajan , Sehwag , Zaheer or Dhoni, for that matter, who now form the crux of the team.

When Sourav scored his first hundred at his famous home ground, The Eden Gardens in under-14 school level there was not a person in the stadium, but when he scored his first century here, there was not an empty seat on the stands. We have rarely witnessed a fan breaking the barricades and dodging policemen to touch his idol’s feet while the match. When Dada was recently felicitated during India’s ongoing series against Pakistan, someone had rightly said, “One Sourav Ganguly and one jeep in front of this packed Eden Gardens crowd would have been enough.” The noise was deafening to the whole of Kolkata and I haven’t seen a person who can muster such popularity by his charisma and personality.

Wherever he has gone, controversies have always followed him. Being branded as a cheat and egoist by other captains, to bearing ignominy when owners of IPL teams, who themselves have never picked up a cricket bat in their life, said Dada was not good enough at the IPL 4 auctions – Dada has seen it all

Sourav Ganguly might be remembered for the wrong reasons by the haters and critics but for his die-hard fans, he will always be the apple of their eyes. For me, however, he would remain someone who changed the way I look at life. His stats speak a lot about him but his attitude and passion for the game coupled with his determination to fight out of testing situations can only glorify his incredible life long stamp on Indian Cricket. Thank you Dada, you always had the gift of timing.

If Cricket would be a religion, Sourav Ganguly will always be a God for me. Love you Maharaj . They say money can buy all good things in life; but for me, this very southpaw from Bengal will always remain the MasterCard to all happiness in my life.