Is the Dada Army at an end?

Sehwag, Harbhajan, Yuvraj and Zaheer – The Four Pillars of the Dada Army

The history of Indian cricket has seen some great captains who are known for taking the sport to a whole new level in the country, but it is rather difficult to find a greater name among them than one Sourav Ganguly. He was the man who transformed Indian cricket in ways that are unimaginable, especially after the way Team India played their cricket in the 90s.

Inception and Rise of the Dada Army

Included among the great things that Ganguly did as skipper was the formation of a team of winners who had the ability to succeed anywhere in the world against any opposition. This team included the seasoned campaigners with whom Dada, as he is so fondly known, had played most of his cricket, as well as a bunch of fresh and fired up youngsters hungry for success in mainstream cricket. One of the names that best describes that champion Indian side from the early 2000s is ‘Dada Army’.

Many young players that Sourav Ganguly introduced to the world went on to have relative success in their respective careers, but a famous quartet among them went on to raise their game to the next level and became icons in their own right. These four players were Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. They were architects of most of India’s triumphs alongside legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Ganguly himself.

Success of its Four Pillars and Eventual Decline

The ultimate gift for all the hard work done by the four of them during a large part of their careers came on an eventful night at the Wankhede Stadium on 2nd April 2011 as India lifted the ICC World Cup trophy after a long wait of 28 years. The best part was that all of them had played pivotal roles in the triumph. Individually too, all of them have had great careers with plenty of moments to remember and cherish for a long long time.

But just when things seemed in place for the perfect final phase in their cricketing life to begin, it all started to fall apart for them. For one of them, it was health-related personal tragedy, while for another, injuries became a grave concern. The other two suffered from drastic loss of form which led to their omission from the national team. All of them made valiant attempts towards making a comeback but most of them went in vain.

The fight continued for the four most elite members of the Dada Army until a couple of weeks back when one of them – Zaheer Khan – decided to hang his boots. Just 5 days later, the news of another retirement became viral, that of Virender Sehwag. While Zaheer cited injuries as the main reason for his decision, it was obvious that Sehwag’s decision was a result of being snubbed out of contention for the national side by the selectors on more than one occasion.

Hopes of a Final Flourish Before the End

Meanwhile, the final two surviving members of the Dada Army are still hanging on in the hope of another shot. While Harbhajan has managed to get a chance for one last hurrah as he continues pick wickets in the ongoing One-Day International series against South Africa, Yuvraj is scoring runs consistently in domestic cricket as he waits for that one opportunity to make it back to where he belongs.

The end of the near-‘Dream Team’ created by Sourav Ganguly, however, is on the horizon. When that will happen is a question which only time can answer.