5 things that might not have happened in Indian cricket were it not for Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly was a great batsman and a better leader
Sourav Ganguly was a great batsman and a better leader

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is undoubtedly one of the greatest leaders the country has ever seen. Widely recognised as the first Indian skipper to inculcate the spirit of fearlessness in the team, Dada ushered in a new group of players who were confident and never backed down.

Sourav Ganguly led the Indian team to 11 wins in 28 overseas Tests as well as the final of the 2003 World Cup, and the belief that they could win instantly instilled itself in the Men in Blue. From the NatWest Trophy shirtless celebration to the iconic 2001 Eden Gardens Test, we have seen the current BCCI President as the key figure in many iconic moments.

On his 48th birthday, we take a look at 5 things that might not have happened in Indian cricket were it not for Sourav Ganguly.


#5 We may have never seen a D/N Test in India without Sourav Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly

Immediately after becoming the President of the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly backed the concept of Day/Night Tests with a pink ball. The Prince of Kolkata organised the first-ever pink ball Test in his hometown ground Eden Gardens, four years after the inaugural pink ball Test in Australia.

The Test was a resounding success, leaving no doubt that D/N Tests are the way to keep the love for the longest format of the game alive. Although Indian captain Virat Kohli has expressed his reservations regarding this latest innovation, Sourav Ganguly has vowed to speak to him about the indisputable fact that D/N Tests have to be a regular feature of cricket across the globe.

After the first pink ball Test in India, Sourav Ganguly said -

"We wanted to do this for Test cricket. It is so important. People were not turning up for Test cricket. We did a lot of things (promotion) during and before this Test. It was sold out all throughout even today though the game was expected to finish early."

#4 Sourav Ganguly steered the Indian ship through the turbulent waters of the spot-fixing saga

Sourav Ganguly took over from Tendulkar
Sourav Ganguly took over from Tendulkar

At the turn of the century, the Indian cricket team found itself caught in an ugly fixing scandal that threatened to shake the very foundations of the sport in the country. Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life, Kapil Dev resigned from his post as the coach of the team. Sachin Tendulkar stepped down from captaincy, and the reins were handed over to Sourav Ganguly.

The onus fell on the southpaw to shepherd the side through the saga that had tarnished the names of some of the greatest cricketers India had ever produced, and he didn't disappoint. He soon led the team to victory in the 2002 NatWest Series, where the image of him waving his shirt about on the Lord's balcony after winning the final is etched in cricket history.

He then captained India to the final of the 2003 World Cup and although they suffered a resounding loss at the hands of the Kangaroos, Indian cricket had well and truly been revived by Sourav Ganguly.


#3 Sourav Ganguly's bold captaincy led to the 2001 Eden Gardens miracle

Captain Sourav Ganguly broke Australia's streak of 16 consecutive Test wins
Captain Sourav Ganguly broke Australia's streak of 16 consecutive Test wins

The 2001 Eden Gardens Test is remembered for VVS Laxman's 281 and his partnership with Rahul Dravid, as well as for Harbhajan Singh's Day 1 hat-trick. But it was Sourav Ganguly who commandeered the Indian team to break Australia's streak of 16 Test wins on the trot.

After the hosts were asked to follow-on, Sourav Ganguly sent in VVS Laxman at No. 3 and even stitched together a useful partnership with the stylish right-hander. India amassed a massive second-innings score of 657, with the tourists set a target of 387 with around two-and-a-half sessions left in the game.

Sourav Ganguly then threw the ball to part-timer Sachin Tendulkar, who dismissed Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, and Shane Warne, as Harbhajan Singh added the finishing touches to one of the greatest Test matches of all time.


#2 Virender Sehwag might not have become one of the greatest openers of all time

Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly
Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly

Virender Sehwag is one of the most destructive openers in cricket history, alongside Sourav Ganguly. The Nawab of Najafgarh is the only opener to have scored over 7,500 runs in both Tests and ODIs, and has also scored the most runs in international cricket as an opener.

However, we might not have seen Viru at the top of the order had Sourav Ganguly not asked the then-middle-order batsman to shift. The backing that Sehwag received from his captain proved to be crucial, and he said in 2019 -

"Dada had a big role to play in my shift to the top of the order. He explained to me that the opening slot was vacant, so if I take it, my place in the side will be guaranteed. But in case I was against the idea and wanted to stick to the middle order, he explained, I would have to wait for someone to get injured."

#1 MS Dhoni might not have become the Indian captain were it not for Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly backed MS Dhoni to the hilt
Sourav Ganguly backed MS Dhoni to the hilt

In 2005, captain Sourav Ganguly promoted MS Dhoni to No. 3 in ODIs, and the wicket-keeper responded with a swashbuckling 148 against Pakistan and Vizag. Dada recently spoke about how this decision came into being, and we could go as far as to claim that were it not for Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni may have never become the Indian captain.

Indian cricket had a whole host of exciting youngsters like Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, and the wicket-keeper's slot was stacked with the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel. But MS Dhoni's destructiveness with the bat titled the scales heavily in his favour - a trait that only revealed itself to the public due to Sourav Ganguly's backing.

As they say, the rest is history.


Also Read: 5 things that might not have happened in Indian cricket were it not for MS Dhoni

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Edited by Atharva Papnoi