India owe debt to Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly is very strong on the off-side in all formats © Getty Images

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Former India Test captain Rahul Dravid once said only God could improve on Sourav Ganguly’s off-side technique.

But it will be for his personality as much for his aesthetically-pleasing stroke-making that Ganguly, who announced today he is to retire from international cricket after the upcoming Australia series, will be remembered.

Indeed, it is Ganguly’s achievements as India’s most successful Test captain which raise him into the company of cricket greats - even if he has ruffled a few feathers along the way.

Under Ganguly’s stewardship India won 21 of 49 Tests and, memorably for all India cricket fans, led the side to a historic first Test series win in the backyard of bitter rivals Pakistan.

Not only did Ganguly’s charges win, they positively battered the home side securing innings victories in two Tests.

Ganguly announced himself on the international stage with a bang before the English cricketing public in 1996, registering back-to-back hundreds in his opening matches.

The 131 by a fresh-faced 23-year-old remains the highest score by a Test batsman on his debut at Lords, impressing those present with his patient approach and reaching the milestone with a majestic cover-driven four off Dominic Cork.

When the trick was repeated at the following Trent Bridge Test, the consensus was that a real cricketing star was emerging.

Although Ganguly’s career has been characterised by ups and downs in his batting form, the peaks outweigh the troughs, and the Kolkata-born 36-year-old can hit glittering passages of form to dominate a series.

Three centuries and a 99 in successive series against Sri Lanka in 1997 demonstrated this, as did his one-day international form during the 1999-2000 season, when his five centuries included a thrilling 183 off 158 balls against the unfortunate Sri Lanka in the World Cup at Taunton.

Ganguly has had plenty of success against England in Test cricket © Getty Images

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Ganguly has won acclaim for his attacking emphasis in the shorter form of the game, a willingness to hit over the in-field taking him to the top of the one-day batting rankings in 2000.

Coming from a privileged background, Ganguly has often been dubbed arrogant by those around him throughout his career, a feature of his personality which has not endeared him to opponents and team-mates alike.

Ganguly’s acrimonious spat with then India coach Greg Chappell in 2005 was the final nail in his captaincy coffin after five successful years in the job.

Chappell said he was unfit to captain the country and was a political manipulator out to save his own career - damaging words for a self-professed team man who lists his greatest achievements as series wins in England, in Pakistan and over Australia, while shunning personal performances.

Towards the end of his career, there have been calls for Ganguly to step aside to foster the development of the next generation, but the Bengal star showed he can have a Indian summer in the game by smashing his maiden double-hundred of 239 against Pakistan in December 2007.

In all sports, but perhaps most significantly cricket, the stats do not lie, and Ganguly’s impressive roll-call secures his place in history.

Averaging above the magic 40 mark in both Tests and ODIs, Ganguly is the seventh man to pass 100 Test matches for India and sits fifth in their all-time run-scoring list.

In ODIs he is second to Sachin Tendulkar among India batsmen and fourth in both the overall run-scoring list and total centuries with 22.

His perfectly capable medium-pace has also led to the highly commendable treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODIs, a feat shared with greats Tendulkar and Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya.

But his finest achievement, one that cannot be measured by the scorers, was his role in galvanising a bunch of supremely gifted individuals and forging an India team which could win at home and abroad through uncompromising leadership.