5 Big Decisions By Captain Sourav Ganguly Which Changed Indian Cricket

Sourav Ganguly was the captain the Indian team needed in the early 2000s. A team beleaguered by match-fixing and a nation with their head bowed required a strong leader to take control and instil the much-needed confidence. The Prince of Kolkata immediately revamped the entire team and restored pride in them, making the people fall in love with the sport again.

The current BCCI president relentlessly backed the likes of Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, and a handful of others to create a solid core group. Gradually, he transformed them from highly talented individuals to genuine match-winners by encouraging them to play fearlessly. The credit for the Indian team’s present dominance undoubtedly began under the auspices of Sourav Ganguly.

We take a look at the five best captaincy decisions taken by Sourav Ganguly:

The decision to bat first under cloudy conditions in Headingley:

Headingley contested the third Test between England and India, with the conditions tailormade for bowling due to the grey skies. The toss fell in Sourav Ganguly’s favour and to everyone’s surprise, he decided to bat first. The reason behind the call was Ganguly’s desire to exploit the turning pitch on the final two days as the tourists opted for Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble.

It proved to be a masterstroke as India declared at 628-8, backed by centuries from Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Sachin Tendulkar. Sourav Ganguly enforced the follow-on after England managed only 273 in the first innings. England captain Nasser Hussain’s hundred was not enough as they crashed to an innings and a 46-run loss.

Sourav Ganguly promoting Virender Sehwag to open the innings:

The swashbuckling opening batsman started his international career as a middle-order batsman, thrashing 105 against South Africa. Nevertheless, Sourav Ganguly saw the opportunity to promote him to open the innings and did so in Test matches. Sehwag went on to redefine the role of attacking play, which had not been witnessed in red-ball cricket for a long time.

With Sourav Ganguly’s belief and confidence, the 42-year old thrived in the role and took the attack to the oppositions from the get-go. The Delhi-born opener smashed more than 8000 runs in both Test and One-day cricket and kept a strike rate of 82.23 in the longest format. He also holds the record for the fastest triple-hundred in Tests and scored two in his career.

Giving Sachin Tendulkar the ball during the Kolkata Test against Australia:

The historic Kolkata Test between India and Australia in 2001 is still one of the most-talked-about matches of all time. While much is documented about the herculean 376-run stand between Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh’s spin-bowling, there is one more aspect that only a few mention. The incident that slips under the radar is Sourav Ganguly handing Sachin Tendulkar the ball late in the final day.

At 161-3, Australia looked likely to save the Test even as Harbhajan Singh worked hard to dismiss Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh just after tea. However, Sachin Tendulkar’s introduction saw the backs of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden as they were trapped in front of the stumps while trying to sweep. Tendulkar also removed Shane Warne as the rest of the wickets were only a mere formality for them.

Asking Rahul Dravid to keep wickets in ODIs:

One of the major decisions taken by Rahul Dravid was to hand over the gloves to Rahul Dravid in the One-day internationals. The former Indian skipper did it to maintain the balance of the team and while Dravid did not prefer doing the job, he did it for the team’s sake. It allowed the Indian team to play one extra batsman in the side.

Ganguly explained the decision, remarking that he understands it’s hard on Dravid to do the keeping job; however, he thought about the team first. The southpaw stated that it is also for that reason he stepped down the order and decided to bat in the middle-order.

“I understand its hard on him, but we have to realise 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,” Sourav Ganguly said when asked about the role of Dravid.

Grooming the next-gen players:

Sourav Ganguly was also significantly responsible for encouraging and grooming players like Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan. Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, 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 four years later. On the other hand, Laxman was an integral part of their Test team, scripting some of the thrilling wins for India.

The 48-year old also endorsed the inclusion of Irfan Pathan, who was one of the best swing bowlers produced by India. Ganguly also offered the chance to MS Dhoni, who guided the national team to three ICC trophies after becoming the skipper in 2007. Thus, all these factors prove that Ganguly is a leader that any team needs, capable of delivering match-winners and plays to win.

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