Nearing the End of an Era

I was shocked as was the rest of India to hear Dada call it a day. It was not unexpected but was shocking nevertheless. Well Dada has a habit of throwing surprises – remember his declaring the Indian innings out of the blue….taking the opponent completely by surprise and winning the test match.
Though I never was a huge admirer of Sourav Ganguly (for me it is Rahul Dravid all the way) I am mourning the retirement of the most successful Indian captain and great player.

Fondly called as the “Prince of Kalkoota” by Geoffrey Boycott, Sourav Ganguly has made a huge contribution to the Indian cricket. After entering the test arena with a big bang scoring a century on his debut, he never really looked back. He scripted with Sachin Tendulkar one of the greatest ODI opening sagas of Indian cricket. Wherever he lacked in technique he filled it up beautifully with exquisite timing and placement. It was a pleasure watching his stroke play on the offside......he was rightly called the “God of the Offside”.

Dada had his own way of looking at things. He never did hesitate in giving a piece of his mind whenever the situation so demanded. Neither did he believe in lying low and accepting others’ terms and conditions. He showed Indian cricket what aggression was all about…..though more often than not it landed him in trouble! He sowed the seed of killer instinct in a very docile team.

It was under his captaincy that Indian cricket has seen the maximum influx of youngsters. It is an irony that it’s the demand for the so called ‘young side’ that has resulted in the exit of Sourav Ganguly. With talks of other ‘seniors’ following suit are we nearing the end of an Era?