the Prince of Calcutta

Some called him the Maharaja, while others called him Lord Snooty. He was referred to as the God on off side at times while at other times he was the pompous, arrogant and spoilt child making the administration dance to his tunes. Sourav Ganguly had been synonymous with words like aggression, determination, grit, counter attack and comeback - but what defined the man who revolutionised Indian Cricket was the tiger who would never give in without a fight. A man who brought the Aussies down and showed the world, his bare chest at the Mecca of Cricket...Sourav Ganguly is and will always be the PRINCE OF CALCUTTA!

"Hi, mera naam Sourav Ganguly hai.Bhoole toh nahi? Jo hua, kyun hua, kaise hua - yeh sab soch ke dukh bhi hota tha, gussa bhi aata tha par ab nahi..."

A man who once gave the nation dreams of lifting the World Cup was sitting in an empty stadium. He was shooting for an ad which was aimed at evoking millions of sentiments. I, being one of Ganguly's greatest fans was watery eyed on seeing this ad. It seemed funny how things could change for a man; exactly a couple of years back when he had stepped onto the very same Wankhade Stadium clad in Blue, there was a crowd of half a lakh supporting his every move, cheering his every shot, dancing to his every six but now they were there no more.

There was a furore over this ad and many former and present cricketers hit at him saying that he was trying to bank on the emotions of the public. Many rubbished this ad to be just a gimmick and added that he was gone for good. Dada was silent on the entire issue. Silence was the way he chose to reply his detractors.

The Indian team captained by Rahul Dravid had been announced. Noone expected any surprises, when once again Ganguly was ommitted from the final list. Although he had his name in the list of probables - Guru Greg and Kiran More had their last say.

I sat in my drawing room and saw the fragile, raw and young Indian batting line up collapse against the West Indies and then a loss against Australia followed. India did not manage to enter the semis in an ICC Tournament in home conditions.

Now, after three years, I can sport a smirk and say that the last time - the Champions Trophy was held in the subcontinent in 2002 - India under the able leadership of Sourav Ganguly were the joint winners of the tournament alongwith Sri Lanka .

Calls of change were growing louder as the present Selection Committee's term was about to end. The team for the ODI Series in South Africa was announced and as usual Ganguly was conspicuous by his absence. What followed in South Africa was a drubbing and to add insult to the injury, Team India in shadows of it's glorious past could not manage to secure a win in a single game even though they had the opposition at the score 0/2 in one of the matches. India lost the series 4 - 0 and the Dravid - Chappel duo faced a lot of flak.

The nation of a billion was not used to losing when cricket meant so much for them.

In the meanwhile, under the November heat in Calcutta; the former captain of Team India was taking laps in the Eden Gardens with two parachutes tied across his waist. A training method quite regular with footballers and athletes was actually being implemented by a cricketer who was glorified to be lazy & unfit by an Australian coach who had a record of bringing the game to disrepute by asking his brother to bowl an underarm delivery.

The Prince of Calcutta would not give in without a fight. He would endure the heat, the agony, the taste of sweat, the humiliation of losing your captaincy, the insult of having black spots on your character and then, one expected the revenge to be sweet.

The selection panel headed by Dilip Vengsarkar had had enough of the 'youth business'. Greg Chappel was given an ultimatum of perform or perish, he gift wrapped the 'repeated failures' and with it opened up a chance for the Prince to stage the comeback of all times...

He was the top scorer in the Test matches in South Africa and then won himself an ODI berth. He scored 98 in his first ODI in 16 months and with it he firmly placed a foot into the team which was more of his creation than anyone elses. Soonafter, scoring became more of a habit as the Ganguly we saw then was stronger, meaner and fitter. Hundred against Bangladesh and a terrific show in England ensured that no longer was he a misfit. He leapt in joy as he celebrated his first century at the EDEN GARDENS and followed it up with a 239 and 91 in Bengaluroo against Pakistan. He amassed the most runs in ODIs and Tests in 2007 amongst Indians and in days to come, the Ganguly-Chappel spat or even the "email" was more of a history.

In 1991/92, when the gawky, lean teenager played his only ODI for India against West Indies in Brisbane, little did anyone know that he was the future monarch of INDIAN CRICKET. The statement that he refused to carry drinks and shoes to the field saying that it was "not his job", was sensationalised. His poor outing of scoring 8 in his debut ODI resulted in his ousting and he was then sent into oblivion for 4 years...

In June, 1996 - Sourav Chandidas Ganguly became one of the very few to score a century on debut. He backed it up with another in the next test match. Hence, the Tour of England in 1996 would become the stepping stone of his success story in years to come. All those who suggested that he bought his way into the team or maybe he entered via quota were silenced with the most effective weapon - his bat.

Ganguly belonged to one of the most affluent Bengali families of Calcutta. He had enough money to last him his life. And a boy from a rich family was not required to toil in the Sun, running a field with parachutes around his waist. But he did. It was not because he wanted to add a few more Mercs to his collection but because a very dear part of his life was removed. He could have very well taken a back seat like a Kambli or maybe a Jadeja but what made him different was that he was Sourav Ganguly. A man who had 10, 000 ODI runs and 6,000 Test runs to back.

What makes him an ideal flagbearer of India Inc. is his never-say-die attitude. If it required him to run onto the field with the groundsmen to put the covers he would. He turned a blind eye to the fact that he was the most powerful member of the team, what mattered to him was the rain and how it would affect the pitch his team would be batting on.

He took over a team enshrouded by the ghosts of match fixing and converted it into World Beaters. He gave the mighty Aussies a taste of their own medicine and rubbed Steve Waugh the wrong way. He supported his team like his family and in a country where disintegrating forces is an example of everyday life we need men who are more than just themselves.

Harbhajan Singh, an NCA trainee rusticated on grounds of misbehaviour and indiscipline was brought into the team and by this way Ganguly unearthed a magician. MS Dhoni, a young lad from the state of Jharkand rose in ranks under Ganguly. Ganguly had famously told a reporter to keep an eye on this young lad from Jharkhand and promised to field him some day. Rahul Dravid was not secure of his position in the team when Sourav went out of the way to back his contemporary who in years to come would do little to ensure Ganguly had his place in the side. On Sourav's insistence Dravid was made into a keeper and had a guranteed place in the side.

When Flintoff had run around the Wankhade top less, it had hurt the sentiments of a bengali who wore his heart on his sleeve. His nation was his pride and he payed back in the same way, when he waved his shirt in the air from the Lord's balcony at the very sacred birth place of Cricket. He sent a strong message that gone were the days when one could expect Indians to be tamed, abused and racially degraded on the Cricket field. If you abuse us, we abuse you back - you strike us on the head, we strike you at the place where it hurts the most. We have learnt how to fight fire with fire.

All of a sudden, Ganguly's attitude of selfless spirt of endurance and reflecton of aggression against the first countries of cricket started reflecting in the nation's youth. We no longer submitted meekly, we learnt the art of winning, we shed the tag of chokers abroad and amidst the ashes of a team lead by Kapil Dev; rose the phoenix of a team lead by Sourav Chandidas Ganguly.

Sourav Ganguly may not be considered to be the greatest cricketer to take the field. Or may not be regarded as an ultimate Test player with 10,000 runs or even 29 centuries. But he mastered the art of captaincy and he will surely be remembered for that. He took India to the finals of the World Cup after two decades, a feat which evaded the greats of Azhar and Tendulkar. His count of fans maybe less than that of a Tendulkar or a Gavaskar, he might be considered to be the arrogant prince in countries abroad; but I can put forward what he told the English media in 2002 when as usual he was intimidated,

"I am not here, to win popularity contests."

YOU DON'T NEED TO WIN POPULARITY CONTESTS DADA. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE KNOWN AS THE PRINCE OF CALCUTTA AND A MAN WHO NEVER GAVE UP...