The Warrior Prince!

The sun sets on the career of arguably India’s most loved captain, cricketer, icon Sourav Ganguly. The prince of Calcutta snubbed as ‘Lord Snooty’ by some has called it quits and embarks the green turf for one last time on Monday when half the nation would feel nostalgic and the other half triumphant. It is rare that a person of his stature in the sport is despised by many of his country men for umpteen reasons. His long time adversary Steve Waugh rightly quoted “Love him or Hate him… You can’t ignore him”… that’s Sourav Ganguly for you… and Dada for many.

The summer of 1996 saw the dawn of a new hero for Indian cricket who changed the face of the game completely. The immaculate timing, the unmatchable grace on off-side are two things which any cricketing mind would associate immediately to only one man. If Tendulkar is God and Rahul’s The Wall… Ganguly was DADA… the man behind TEAM INDIA! When God shrugged off his responsibility citing pressure as a reason and when The Wall was too tender to bear any burden this man raised his hand for the crown of thorns when Indian cricket’s funeral procession was passing by the streets of every other town thanks to some greats who fixed matches! He was never the most celebrated son of the Nation but, definitely he was more loved than many others in the team. India remembers Gavaskar for his grace, Tendulkar for his brilliance, Jumbo for his spirit, The Wall for his patience but DADA will always be remembered as someone who created ‘TEAM INDIA’ – the man who instilled faith, passion and aggression in what previously was branded as a bunch of submissive losers.

Every other day a new critic cropped up who would say Sourav Ganguly would not have made it to the bench had he been born in Australia or that a person who cannot play on the on-side would never fit into his eleven but, rarely did they remember that if 12000 runs could be scored on the off-side then, of what need is leg-side? If runs could be amassed at a rate quicker than the God of Indian cricket of what use is the knowledge of playing a short ball? Sourav Ganguly played to win not for himself but to live up to the faith that people had in him. Rarely does a captain mention that “Back home people badly want us to win… this one is for them”. People have won T20 world cups only by saying “I had nothing to lose”. His means appeared selfish to many but the ends didn’t. India won… at home… abroad… made it to the world cup final… raped the Aussies in their own den… ripped apart the pride of the Pakistanis… thanks to the leader. He might have not lead from the front in most victories but, his sacrifice was uncalled for… he accepted captaincy only for the betterment of the Team… for reviving and fulfulling the dreams of a generation!

Today while half of the nation celebrate when the old warhorse faltered for one last time… the other half weeps in memory of a Hero who fought for their cause for a decade! He was thrown out of his own team, in a way that hurt much more. The Wall who once called this man God of off-side was not interested in his return to the side. The youthful exuberance with which DADA drafted youngsters into TEAM INDIA proved to be the lethal blow to his own career. But, never did he complain. His protege Yuvraj replaced him in Test Matches but Sourav went back to all small towns in India, to the grounds that had little green on them… played on pitches that were barely prepared…

The Wall lead Team India to consecutive defeats abroad after a successful tour to the caribbean. The Proteas broke the back of Team India! While the entire team crumbled like a pack of cards, Sourav was scoring for his team in the Domestic arena. His call to the National team received mixed response as his ever faithful critics started writing him off and his ever faithful fans started celebrating and the celebrations never stopped. The rise of the Phoenix was truly the greatest comebacks ever in the history of cricket. He scored more than any other Indian in the longer format of the game for the calender year 2007. He was second in the world… He came back into the side and won two man of the series awards… several man of the match awards… The Dada of the old was reborn…. a generation that grew up watching him play were now old enough to realise and revel in the greatest stories that Dada scripted. He topped it all with a ton at Eden and a double at Bangalore… the joy was limitless and the world knew for sure about a Warrior who fought all through his career. His knocks in England and Australia set the tone for India’s exceptional performance… and thanks to the umpiring decisions he could not make a ton in either parts of the world during his second stint.

The teardrop of India became the cause for a million tears on the 9th of November 2008. The carrom ball didn’t do the trick but the hype did it in, as the Fab four could not make it count and for one time after his comeback Sourav failed.That was enough for him to be sacked for one last time. But, this time the Warrior was wary of what was to come owing to politics in and out of the Team and decided to say it is enough. I had it all! The last words at the press conference before Aussies toured India where he said “One last thing lads….” shattered millions of followers of the game who felt that the Prince of Calcutta was playing far better and consistently than any other member of Team India. The Warrior Prince gave the final blow to a Nation which failed once again to respect its Hero. He smacked the Kangaroos all around the park at Bangalore… registered a ton at Mohali… and missed a ton by a whisker at Nagpur…  while The Wall had a big hole drilled through! He did not deserve to leave before others who are far more inconsistent at this point of time but, He decided to call it a day! Not just Bengal but people from every nook and corner of this cricket crazy nation watched the match and shouted in dismay when their Dada was out for one last time! The long walk back to the pavillion was never to be seen again and cricket will never be what it has been for years. I greatly cherish the moments that this fighter has left on my mind. The man will be gone but the tons… the shirt at Lord’s… the 144@Brisbane… the captain courageous… a representative of India’s hopes… A fighter… A patriot… A Warrior Prince will remain… forever in the hearts of millions across the globe!

Goodbye Dada!

You will be missed badly by half a billion a atleast!