#3 Giving Sachin Tendulkar the ball during the Kolkata Test against Australia:
The historic Kolkata Test between India and Australia in 2001 will always be one of the most memorable games of cricket for Indian fans. While it was known for the herculean 376-run stand between Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh’s spin-bowling, Sourav Ganguly handing Sachin Tendulkar the ball late in the final day was the game-changing moment as well.
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At 161-3, Australia looked likely to save the Test even as Harbhajan worked hard to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh just after tea. However, Sachin Tendulkar’s introduction helped India to get the wickets of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden as they were trapped in front of the stumps while trying to sweep.
#4 Asking Rahul Dravid to keep wickets in ODIs
One of the major decisions taken by Ganguly was to hand over the gloves to Rahul Dravid in ODIs and the latter did it for the team’s sake. It allowed the Indian team to play one extra batsman in the side. Ganguly explained the decision by saying, “I understand it’s hard on him, but we have to realize that the team comes first. It’s the same reason why I stepped down from opening the batting and am now batting at number three or four for the country.”
#5 Grooming the next-gen players
Sourav Ganguly will always be known for grooming the youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan. Virender Sehwag, and Harbhajan Singh. Such players became the nucleus of the men in blue’s 2007 T20 World Cup win and the 50-over tournament victory in 2011. The 48-year old also endorsed the inclusion of Irfan Pathan, who was one of the best swing bowlers produced by India.
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Ganguly also offered the chance to MS Dhoni, who guided the national team to three ICC trophies after becoming the skipper in 2007 to bat up the order and it changed his career. Thus, all these factors prove that Ganguly is a leader that any team needs, capable of churning out match-winners, who plays to win.
