Sourav We Will Miss Ya…

Ganguly's greatest gift to Indian cricket was self-belief. The same force drives the legend himself.

Indian cricket just lost its greatest posterboy. Yuvraj may have the looks and, Dhoni the charisma, but it was Ganguly who had the spunk that inspired their generation. Forget the shirt swinging, the attitude, the aggression, just recall the passion that swept us along. The passion that made us believe that we could win. The passion that ultimately did lead us to many unbelievable victories.

His is not a fairytale success story and, that is what makes it more fascinating. Born with a platinum spoon in his mouth, he may have been spared a few struggles in his life, but when it came to cricket, despite talent he really had to sweat, to keep his wicket.

There is the oft repeated tale of Mr. Snooty's one-day debut in 92. And so he was dropped like a hot potato. Dismayed but not defeated, he persevered in a situation of an ice-cube's chance in hell. And either the universe conspired or God just took pity on him and, gave what his heart so longingly desired. Test debut at Lords in 96 with a sparkling century began his new innings in Indian cricket.

Sourav at that time seemed like a shy, reticent youngster. His fires were at best limited to his strokes. The mere suggestion that this guy would one day be swinging his shirt at Lords seemed completely implausible.

Perhaps it had something to do with him shaving off his moustache but, things began to change. Ganguly began to find a polite yet strong voice. Indian cricket though moved in the opposite direction. When he was named Captain, it was in shambles. Yet he was gung ho about inheriting what many called a Crown of Thorns. And there was no show of surprise or false modesty, he had expected it and, despite the current situation, he still felt it was an honour and matter of great pride.

No wonder he didn't let us down. It was an easy situation to falter in and yet emerge unscathed. But if it could not be done, Ganguly made sure it happened. He fought on. Infact he fought so hard that it gave him an aggressive image that overshadowed his intelligence and foresight. But he refused to care. Some people only play to win and, as the victories started pouring in, he did.

As Sourav famously said, he was the most hated Captain and, as he perhaps never realized, also the most loved. Everyone had an opinion on him, he just refused to be left in the shade. He raised the bar so high, that in the end even he, himself could not touch it.

Nothing lasts forever, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth continues. After what seemed like the end he rose again. That is classic Ganguly, he just never gives up till life just has to concede. Today he may have moved on from cricket but, for his fans (one of whom is writing this) International cricket can never move away from him.