Ganguly book mirrors his fearless mind
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has detailed his anguish over his retirement call as cricketer, in a teaser chapter released ahead of the launch of his first book titled ‘A Century Is Not Enough’.
Ganguly has written about how guru-turned-foe Greg Chappell ‘didn’t exist’ for him, about former captain Anil Kumble’s strong support, and how he felt belittled by selectors’ decision to keep testing him in matches despite getting thousands of runs.
Ganguly recalled the troubled days of Durga Puja in 2008 and how he had to make the toughest call of his career. “Little did I know that the toughest decision of my life was to be announced on a Puja day in 2008. On Mahastami, when celebrations are usually at their peak, two days before the Bengaluru Test, I took part in a press conference.”
Ganguly, admired for his heroics more than his batting feats, recalled how tough he has been throughout his life. “I did not cry even at my father’s death. Most of you, like my friend, won’t believe me. Sourav is not telling the truth, you’ll be saying to yourself. But some of you will be nodding your head in agreement. You know my type. We are a minority who tend to think tears are the easy way out of sadness. But don’t let our masks fool you. Maybe it’s because we hold our emotions in check that they remain within us even more. We look tough on the outside, but inside we bleed.”
Describing the day of his retirement as ‘still a raw wound’, he wrote, “The events of that summer afternoon in 2008 still remain a raw wound for me. I was going for practice at Eden Gardens and had almost reached Fort William, which was just two minutes away. Suddenly my mobile rang. The caller happened to be a journalist. He had heard the news that I had been left out of ROI squad, which is an indicator of how the selectors feel about you.”
“I asked Kumble, did he think I was no longer an automatic choice in his eleven? Kumble — the gentleman that he has always been — seemed embarrassed with my call. He told me he hadn’t been consulted before the selection committee chaired by Dilip Vengsarkar took this decision.”
Ganguly described how decided play in a lesser-known tournament just to prove himself. “I mean no disrespect to the tournament but most of you outside the northern cricketing belt have probably never heard of the JP Atrey Memorial Trophy. Even I knew of it vaguely,” he wrote.
His selection in Indian Board President’s XI team to face Australia in Chennai was another blow, as Ganguly expressed. “The Board President’s XI is traditionally used to vet the potential of promising youngsters or assess veterans whose Test future is uncertain. I was included in it as well. The message was crystal clear — that a veteran of 100-plus Test matches, a certain Sourav Ganguly, was again on trial.”
“I felt extremely agitated. That is when I told my father that I needed to call it a day. My father was surprised..”
MUMBAI: