The man named Ganguly

Few months back when I wrote ‘No One Picked Ganguly’, I have left a question unanswered that what will happen if any other franchise decides to play Ganguly. It happened on Monday as it was announced that Sourav Ganguly will represent Pune Warriors in the 4th installment of the greatest domestic tournament ever. As expected the NEWS went down with the mixed responses and reaction from the viewers, fans and sport enthusiasts. A lot of articles explicitly condemned the decision of Ganguly joining the Pune Warriors. A lot of Dada fans also were disappointed on the decision of joining a team that is on the verge of getting out of the tournament. Whether a good decision or bad, people will always have their reserved perception and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but let us just sit back and think on few points.

Sourav Ganguly has been one of the finest in the business be it as a captain, player, leader or a mentor. In his days Dada has been the force that changed the face of Indian cricket and a dull side depending on a single person (read Tendulkar) changed into a bunch of lions ready to pounce on its prey under the leadership of the Royal Bengal Tiger. Undoubtedly Ganguly has been the natural aggressor and motivator in the team. In the early 2000s when the team was struggling with the Match fixing allegations and poor form, a man stood with responsibility on his shoulders and a bunch of youngsters and what he delivered is a team that shown the greatest teams of world cricket then that India can fight and can fight hard. He has played exquisite innings and his records both in test and one dayers is indispensably superb. Most important fact is that Ganguly injected the right attitude in the team which was the need of the hour.

These are the facts which everyone knows, why is it required to be reiterated? It is because amidst all the controversies and bizarre comments we seldom tend to forget that he is a player at heart and a player belongs to the field and not off-screen. It is the live action what a real sportsmen crave for. For a player his past achievements, his good days, and his class with the act do not matter, it is for the fans and the analyst. For a player what matters is to be on the field one more time, to feel the vibes of the crowd when he is standing on the pitch.

Ganguly has definitely earned whatever he could have with the game and this time winning or losing do not matter. It does not matter if the team he is joining will not be qualifying further, what matters is to be feeling the same pleasure once again. When a Gladiator returns to arena for one last time he does not do it for the people viewing him sitting in the gallery, he does it for himself.

It is like Maradona playing one last dribble, Schumacher holding the wheels one last time or my personal favorite Rocky Balboa returning for one last fight. It’s the feeling no one can ever understand except the player himself coz

“It’s what they are, It’s what they do…….they ain’t know anything else……… ”