When the Indian cricket team was confronted with the possibility of a brutal ignominy in the 99’s, that is exactly when the board handed over the astronomical onus of spearheading a bunch of young people to a bloke named Saurav Ganguly.
The kid, who roared in Lords with a theatrical flourish after making a stunning comeback with a blistering century, was all set to take over the reins of Indian cricket team. The rest they say is history.
Not only was Ganguly a successful captain in his heydays, but after he pulled the plug on his career, he chose to showcase his zeal for the sport through the mic.
Currently touted as one of the best analysts and commentators of the sport and also the president of BCCI, Saurav Ganuly owned up his colleagues with some extremely sarcastic and witty remarks. That is exactly what we will see in this piece.
1. Ganguly versus Naseer Hussain
Nasser: “When can I see India in the FIFA World Cup?”
Ganguly: “If India had played football for 50 years, then we would have qualified for the finals atleast once.”
2. Saurav Ganguly on Mauka Ad:
Harsha: “Have you seen the new ‘Mauka Mauka’ ad?”
Ganguly: “Yes I have seen that ad and this ad will remain the same for next 10 to 12 years because Pakistan will never beat India in the World Cup.”
3. Ganguly versus Geoffrey Boycott
Boycott: “You must mention your experience about taking your jersey off and flying it in the air at the Mecca of Cricket: Lord’s! Ohhh, you naughty boy!”
Ganguly: “One of your boys also took off his jersey here in Mumbai.”
Boycott: “Yeah, but Lord’s is the Mecca of cricket.”
Ganguly: “Lord’s is your Mecca, and Wankhede is ours!”
4. Ganguly sledged Dravid in the box
Dravid: “If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.”
Ganguly: “I wish I was the Prime Minister of India, I could have done a whole lot of things.”
5. Ganguly just found a bit of himself in Dhoni
Ganguly: “Once Dhoni retires, he should write a book on field placements.”
6. Ganguly versus Bhogle
Harsha: “Do you think Sachin will be more popular than you in that Kolkata Test match?”
Ganguly: “Yes, but only for those five days!”
7. Ganguly calls out the boorish Australians
Ganguly: “The attendance today is 7,653. We have that attendance in Durga Puja.”
8. The legendary Ganguly versus Greg Chappell
Rajdeep Sardesai: “Does Greg Chappell owe an apology to Indian cricket? To Sachin Tendulkar, to Sourav Ganguly, to Rahul Dravid?”
Ganguly: “He can call up Tendulkar or Dravid. But he dare not dial my number. If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly.”
9. Ganguly owned the Indian coach
Shastri: “Shouldn’t there be a ‘Sourav Ganguly Stand’ at Eden Gardens?”
Ganguly: “The entire stadium belongs to me Ravi.”
