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‘Losing the ODI place was shattering’

— Photo: K. Pichumani

FRESH OUTLOOK: Getting dropped from the ODI side changed Sourav Ganguly’s attitude towards life and cricket.

NEW DELHI: The knock at The Wanderers against South Africa changed his perspective of batting, cricket and life. It taught him to take things as they come by. It was not easy, but it was not tough either.

For Sourav Ganguly, it is once again a throwback to the days when he ruled the crease. His romance with cricket found a new avenue even as he lost his captaincy and then his place.

“It was a nightmare, really. Losing the one-day place was shattering. You will not believe it but I knew it was coming because I was not judged on cricketing merit. It was terrible.

“I felt very bad, very hurt. You obviously feel bad when you lose your place. It was devastating, but a lesson too. Cricket is a great learning experience.

“I don’t know if it means we don’t how to handle the senior players or not, but it was something that had never happened in Indian cricket. It was an exception and I was an unfortunate victim,” said the former India captain from his home in Kolkata on Wednesday.

He made an unbeaten 51 at The Wanderers in a winning cause in December 2006. There was no looking back in his fairytale comeback after that, as he smashed 100 against Bangladesh and 102 and 239 in back-to-back Tests against Pakistan at home last year.

Ganguly (6,792 runs in 106 Tests and 11,363 runs in ODIs) changed dramatically as a person.

“Life is not just cricket. The time spent at home was quality time and mattered more than anything else. For almost 12 years, I have been hopping from one country to another, one city to another, catching flights, living out of suitcases.

“It made me a better person in many ways. I could handle pressure better, judge success and failure in the right perspective. My perspective towards life changed. I would say that it was the most important phase of my career and helped me get my confidence back.”

Was he not unfit? “Fitness? What is fitness? If I was not fit, I would not have survived this long. I have worked hard and survived by scoring runs and taking wickets. I did it the hard way, and with support from my fans.

“The amount of love I get is unbelievable. I doubt if any cricketer gets this kind of support from his home fans. Playing at the Eden Gardens was never a pressure because I knew they were backing me all the way. They helped me to do well.”

At 37, what was Ganguly’s driving force? “The driving force was to play for India again. It helped that I was not leading the side. That does not mean I did not enjoy the captaincy.

“It was a huge honour to lead India but when I lost my captaincy, it also gave me a lot of time to work on my game. I just did not give up. I set myself a time period. I had achieved almost everything in cricket — played Tests, one-dayers, captained, and done well in World Cup. I had to come back, and I knew I could. I just gave it everything that I had.”

It was back to the same grind of domestic cricket. It did not hurt Ganguly when he travelled with the State team. In fact, he enjoyed every bit of it.

“That’s where I grew and honed my game. Going back to the basics was never a problem. It made me mentally tougher, taught me a different perspective of life and cricket. That was the only way for me to come back into the Indian team.”

“It did not matter where I played, whether I travelled by train or bus, or stayed in a dingy hotel. What mattered was whether I excelled on the field, which gladly I did.”

How does he look at this new-found obsession with youth that dictates the selection policy?

Ganguly was candid. “It would be wrong to call it an obsession with youth. Maybe, we can reframe it ‘how to groom the youngsters.’ The best way is to pick a player on performance and nothing else. There is no other way to judge a player. You can do it only on performance, and not just the age.”

What about the mind-blowing contracts the youngsters have been handed out? “I will tell them that money will not fetch runs or wickets. It is only performance that will count. They have to work on their cricket and judge their abilities by what they achieve, not what they earn.

“You have to do well in Tests to do well in all forms of the game. This is a lesson I learnt the first time I played in a one-day match. Nothing can match Test cricket, nothing.”

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