A farewell to the man who made Indian cricket team to TEAM INDIA!

Honestly, I am too shocked for words! Wait, let me get my senses back. Dada is retiring after this Australian series. Man, I will miss him big time. Have been a little out of touch with cricket these days and when I came to know about it, I had to read the content from all the news papers I could gather and every single website that covers this news, to believe it.
The royal Bengal tiger, true to his virtue, has been a man of solidarity, influence and strength. A man, who people hate and love at the same time, a typical Bengali.

Sourav Ganguly, an awe inspiring persona, charismatic and regal, he will be a figure who shall be remembered in the Indian cricket as legendary. With his first tour that began as a threat to his career, he launched himself a career that is scintillating. Comebacks have been a part and parcel of his career, each remarkable than the one before. With a century in his debut test match in Lords, he sent the waves of promise and lived to it as his statistics prove. Though he has put us under a roller coaster ride of emotions with every success and failure of his, he still ebbed a writing that is deep and etched on stone, on every fan of cricket. The off drives that have been his trade mark or his sixes that were unbelievably classy, something to do with him being a left hander, he took a decision of giving up his bat and Indian cricket will now have one legend short…

What makes him different to Sachin or Rahul or for that matter any other Indian player who played along side him is that, he made this team gel as a cohesive unit. If there were flaws, they were his own, if there was strength, it was his strength that echoed in the footsteps of the youth that played in the team. A leader filled with determination and pride. He carried himself with aplomb on the field, paid back compliments how ever sour they may be, be it with a bear chested dance on the Lords pavilion or the wait for the toss for the Steve Waugh. If an Irphan could bowl a bouncer to Steve Waugh as a welcome to the crease, it is his confidence that gave Irphan the courage to do so. If Yuvi and Kaif could embrace after the Lords famous win in the Natwest series, it is his never-say-die attitude that marked the team India. If there is any captain in the history of Indian cricket that brought the Indian team as a team together, it is undoubtedly Sourav. If Bhaji could stick upto Sourav, it is the loyalty he inspired from the team by his actions. Criticized and loved the same, Sourav took the Indian cricket and shook it by the roots to shake the dust of rust and give a vigour to the team, before he planted it back in the soil to reap the benefits of being better performers over seas.

With a threat to Aussie dominance and a win in Pakistan and a miracle ride in the 2003 world cup, he is the proud man who shouldered the pride of every Indian on his sleeves. What do I remember most of him? Not his play, but his captaincy. The dynamism with which he took the field, the way the team looked upto him and the way even the far off fielders looked at him for instructions, he is a man who is a born leader. No one teaches you how to lead and if your team looks at you from every corner and gets the job done without a raised voice, that to me is leadership. He is a leader and a ferocious one who hunted the prey, making the hunt worthwhile to watch. Though this hunt has made him a predator, and himself a prey, with his withdrawl from the Aussie test match or with his hesitancy in opening the innings, the position that offered him rich dividends in the early part of his career.

Though the career has been shun with controversies and ridicule, the fact still remains that he is the leader who inspired his team to make a mark on the world cricket and not just suck it up but stand up and give it back. Give back what they deserve, be it a word or a slap or a hit! That is him.

Forgetting the sad statements that questioned his commitment to the game or the claimed injuries that forced him to rest, I wish I could see this series of his and I wish it would describe his career … Wishing you dada, all the very best and hoping that the you will retire on a winning note. None has made a difference to Indian Cricket as you have done and it will take another great player to replace you, who as of now is yet to be seen in the Indian Cricket.

Sourav Ganguly, the God of offside, a tribute and a heart felt good-bye…