The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : I enjoy playing under Dravid, says Sourav Ganguly

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Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
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I enjoy playing under Dravid, says Sourav Ganguly

S. Ram Mahesh

Time out of the game made him tougher
Captaining is not easy

London: Sourav Ganguly has always polarised opinion. The English, in particular, have a testy relationship with him. They weren’t sure how to react when he bared his chest on the Lord’s balcony, though the English team of that time grudgingly accorded him respect.

Clearly, the relationship continues to be prickly. Hardly had Ganguly entered London when a cruel joke on how to identify Chandu Borde, the Indian manager, began doing the rounds. A respected writer in a respected English paper provided the punchline — he’s the one carrying Ganguly’s bags.

Yet, everyone crowded at the table Ganguly was scheduled to sit at during Tuesday’s media session. “Sourav is it? My, my,” said one tabloid writer, and surprisingly many professed an admiration.

Perhaps, it isn’t that difficult after all to figure out why Ganguly says he enjoys coming to the country he made his debut in. “The frame of mind I had going into my debut Test (Lord’s, 1996), I could never have it after,” says Ganguly.

“It was probably the best frame of mind I had in my entire career. I couldn’t develop that frame of mind in the last 10-11 years, although I’ve scored runs all around the world.

Age factor

“I wish I could get back into that mindset in this Test. I never had any nervousness, I didn’t have any fear of failure in 1996. Probably, it’s an age factor.

“When you are young you don’t worry about a lot of things, which you start doing once you play a lot and grow older. I was more carefree and enjoyed the full five days of the Test match. Those five days were different,” he added.

Ganguly thinks his time out of the game hardened him. “Those eight months when you are left out, you have all sorts of thoughts going on in your mind. “Things have changed. I’ve got my place back in the squad. It made me a tougher player, to be honest. When I came back in South Africa, I was much tougher than even when I played my best cricket.”

Placatory note

For a man who critics allege as being power-hungry, Ganguly struck a suitably placatory note.

“I enjoy playing under Rahul (Dravid),” he says.

“Captaining is not easy and with India it gets harder. When you are the captain you end up doing a whole lot of things: working on yourself, spending time with the players who are not doing well. I’ve enjoyed these last eight months. I’ve had a lot of free time.”

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