Sourav Ganguly admits to using THIS understated Australian trait to build 2000s India team

The name of former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly will always be considered in the list of best Indian captains that cricket has ever experienced. Fans would always cherish the Sourav Ganguly moment during the Natwest series final in 2002, where he removed his India jersey and waved it from the Lord’s balcony to celebrate India’s win. While remembering the achievements of the Indian team during the start of the 21st century, Sourav Ganguly had once revealed an Australian trait that was followed among the Indian players during his time as a player.

Sorav Ganguly talks about the former Australian team

In 2018, Sourav Ganguly had given an informal interview on the fan favourite show, “Breakfast with Champions”, hosted by television presenter Gaurav Kapur. During the interview, Gaurav Kapur asked Ganguly about his favourite opposition during that time to which Ganguly answered by naming Australia. The former Indian captain recalled that the Australian team during his time was so good that the performance of the team was evaluated based on their performance against the likes of Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist.

The Harbhajan Singh incident involving the Australian team

He also recalled an incident involving Harbhajan Singh where even after sending the heavy-hitters from the Australian team back to the pavilion, players like Adam Gilchrist used to come at number 7 position. Dada recalled how Harbhajan Singh used to express concern about Adam Gilchrist coming to bat at number 7, knowing that he was a quick run-scorer. Later, Gaurav Kapur pointed out the healthy banter that the Indian players used to have among themselves while occasionally pulling each other’s leg.

Ganguly recalls the Australian trait that was followed in the India team

The quality of having a go at each other was always a signature identity of the Australian players which was not restricted on the field. Sourav Ganguly recalled that event the Indian team during his time used to have a go at each other but they used to do it with the utmost respect. Since the team spent 7-8 months of a year playing cricket, the Indian players got familiar with each other’s company and the respect factor allowed this light and playful banter amongst the players.

Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were known to be the greatest pranksters in the Indian team with Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra also being among the outspoken ones. Yuvraj and Harbhajan, alongwith the help of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, successfully pulled off an April Fools' Day prank in 2005 on Sourav Ganguly itself.

Indian team under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly

After Sachin Tendulkar had a disappointing tenure as India's captain, the reins of the India team were handed over to Ganguly in the year 2000. Some of Dada’s famous achievements as an Indian captain include the 2002 Natwest series win, India reaching the 2003 World Cup Final, India retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2003-04 and winning the Pakistan tour in 2004. During the Natwest final, Mohammad Kaif and a young Yuvraj Singh had led Team India to a victory which led to the famous jersey waving moment.

However, he was removed from the captaincy over a spat with the former Indian coach Greg Chappell and Rahul Dravid was named as the captain. This change proved fatal as India, who earlier reached the final of the 2003 World Cup, were knocked out during the group stages of the 2007 World Cup under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Currently, Sourav Ganguly is serving as President of the BCCI and great players like Sachin Tendulkar have always praised the impact of Ganguly on Indian cricket.

Image Source: PTI