The Sourav Ganguly interview: ‘Cricket is a captain’s game, the coach has to take a step behind’

‘Belief’ is a word that is synonymous with former India captain Sourav Ganguly. It was that belief that made him build a team after a match-fixing scandal had left Indian cricket in tatters at the turn of the century. It was that belief that made him one of the most-feared opening batsmen in the one day format. It was that belief that led to many famous wins - home and overseas - for India under his captaincy.

Taking on the might of Steve Waugh’s Australian side, and to use a relatively unknown Harbhajan Singh as a trump card also needed oodles of belief. Ganguly and his team went on to clinch a historic series win in 2001, that too, from being 0-1 down in the three-match series.

Whether it was orchestrating a massive run chase at Lord’s against England in the Natwest series final or using public outrage as fuel to lead his side to the World Cup final in 2003, there was little doubt that the ‘Prince of Calcutta’ thrived on supreme self-confidence.

Nearly a decade after hanging up his boots, Dada - as he continues to be referred to - still oozes that confidence. His fortitude is unmistakable. In an interaction with The Field, on the occasion of the release of his book, A Century Is Not Enough, he reaffirms this right away:

“I woke up every morning, looked at the ground and believed that I could win. I picked up a cricket bat and believed I could score. And I believed I would succeed. And I actually believed. Even now I believe - that if I train for three weeks and you make me play, I’ll score. I have this unbelievable faith. I don’t know where it comes from. Maybe it’s because of all the successes I’ve had over the years but I’ve got this tremendous faith in me.”

Watch the full interview with Dada here:

Excerpts from the interview

Question: Rahul Dravid said “On the offside, first there is God, and then Ganguly” - how did this happen?

Ganguly: I wasn’t so good when I was a young player. I remember the India ‘A’ trip when England came here and I kept knicking Dominic Cork outside the off stump. I hadn’t played for India then. Then with time, with confidence it just came into my game. And I think the reason why it happened was, a lot of them bowled on the off stump. That was the line and you had to get better. It was similar to what happened to my leg side play with time. When I started, I wasn’t that good. But the more the bowlers bowled on to my leg side, I started playing more. So it was about practice and with time that I got better. But I was never this good when I started. I never hit such long sixes when I started. I think confidence makes you better.

On proving himself outside India

You know, when I came back in 1996 [after his debut tour], I could see it. The respect for Indian cricket was not there. It was like: ‘Tendulkar will get a 100, Ganguly may get, Dravid may get, but these boys will never win.’ My approach to captaincy was what difference I could bring to this side. You know, prepare for turning pitches, give the ball to spinners, you win.

But how will I be remembered? Wins in Australia, playing well in England, playing well in Pakistan. And that’s the way I looked at it. I’m a little different. In my life, I tread the untreaded path. I see a lot of my colleagues saying ‘Let it be, things are going well...’ But for me, if it’s going well but it can be better. I’m that sort of a person.

On captaincy

A coach has to take a step behind. It’s a captain’s game, cricket. Whoever is the captain. Because what happens on the cricket field is a lot different from the dressing room. I think coach has to support the captain. It cannot be the other way around. That’s how it is with good teams always.

Australia at it’s best, Steve Waugh or Mark Taylor. South Africa at it’s best, Graeme Smith. England at it’s best, Andrew Strauss or Alastair Cook. India at it’s best, Ganguly or MS Dhoni.

And when I became captain, lot of great players were approachable to me. And I think that’s the best way to learn. There’s no harm in it. You know, Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge were nightmares to bowlers. And I had the opportunity of seeing him in Sussex in 1996 when I went on the trip. And I learnt a lot actually. Boycott had so much knowledge about batting. So did Gavaskar. It was terrific.

And it’s a situation for every young kid. And every young player who comes in. Even when we became captains, you used to see the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag just look at you. It’s their moment. And I think it happens to every individual at various stages of their lives.

First thing I went up to Sachin after I became captain and he gave up. I said ‘It doesn’t matter you’re not the captain. You’re still the leader in my group and we have to work together.’ Same thing with Rahul, Anil. We had a core group to run the team. And we made sure we worked like that. I met them and said that ‘you are leaders as well.’

Is there a shelf life for captains?

100%. It’s like an investment banker. The higher the pressure the more you get burned out. The pressure comes in, expectations go up. You have to find new ways. Your honeymoon period finishes. It’s with everyone. Like MS in his last few years, it just gets tougher with time for everyone in the world.

What does captaincy take out of you?

Time, energy, freshness.

On being an opener...

I was just pushed into it. Like I did to Sehwag. That’s why in this book [A Century Is Not Enough] I’ve mentioned that the best things in life are unwanted. So be open. And be approachable. Don’t close your mind on things. And it came out from my own experience as an opener. The way Hayden and Langer went about as openers. That forced me to push Sehwag as an opener. I said ‘You do it. We’ll see what happens.’ And Sehwag wouldn’t have been half the player if he wasn’t an opener. So I’m convinced that the best things in life happen unwanted. From nowhere.

On maintaining fitness through his career...
I worked very hard. A lot of it was perception. A lot of people had an opinion about me by seeing what I did on the cricket field. But off the field I was a completely different person. If I would not have been fit, I would not have played more than 430-440 games for India. Just for India. Then there are first class matches, county matches, day-in day-out. I bowled. So sometimes certain things are perception based. Yes, and with time I learnt a lot more about fitness. And with time I put a lot more time into fitness also. Because the culture changed when I came in 1996 and then in 2010, the culture was completely different.

On coming back after being dropped
You had to be honest enough to understand and respect a captain’s decision and I did. But at the same time, I was determined enough to come back. Because this was my life. I loved it. I did not do this for money. Because if I wouldn’t have done it, I’d still be fine. I did it because I got so much happiness doing it. I’m a little emotional person. Which I see in Virat as well. And that’s the way I was. I got very attached with a lot of things.

On retirement

Retirement is never easy. Because the thing you love most, the thing which you wanted to do for the best part of your life, you had to give up. But that’s life. Everybody has to finish. Maradona finished, Borg finished, Bradman finished, Tendulkar finished. Everybody has to finish. That’s the rule of professional sport.

It’s like when you have a loss in your family. You know at the back of your mind that with age, it has to come to an end. But it takes a little bit of time to get used to it. Because you loved that person so much. Sport for us was the same. We loved it so much but obviously it took a little bit of time to realise that you wouldn’t do it again. But then you get used to it. With time you realise that that’s nature. Like life and death, you’re born, you grow, you lead a life, you die. Everything has an end.