Captaincy is not about being the boss, it's also about controlling your temper, says Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly has cited an incident, during the famous Natwest series win, where he lost his temper at Virender Sehwag but controlled his emotions which actually helped India win that game. Ganguly also praised the way Virat Kohli has come out in support of the under scrutiny MS Dhoni.
The 2002 NatWest final which was played at the Lord’s was one of the most memorable wins for India. While chasing the target of 326, the Bengal born player and Virender Sehwag built a 106-run stand. Recalling the famous win, Ganguly stated that captaincy was about holding back your emotions as he shared an incident where he was felt furious with Sehwag.
"We had a terrific start and then Ronnie Irani came to bowl his slow medium bowlers. I told Sehwag 'don't leave at this stage'," he said as quoted by PTI.
"Ronnie pitched it up and Sehwag scored a boundary. I told him to rotate a strike, he scored two more and also swept another. I finally stopped
"Later he told me 'don't get angry all those balls were 'hittable'. Captaincy is not about being
One of the most memorable image from that final was when Ganguly went wild, taking off his shirt and twirling it on the Lord's balcony.
"Before that, we had lost three finals. A lot of that expression after the game was a sigh of relief. I just got carried away," he said.
After MS Dhoni's below-par performance during the recently-concluded New Zealand series, former players like VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar had raised questions over Dhoni’s place in the shortest format of the game.
Despite the average performance in the series, Dhoni got support from players, of past and present, which included Virat Kohli. Ganguly hailed the way Kohli has backed the wicketkeeper-batsman during the last stage of his career.
"He (Kohli) is a fantastic captain. I don't know what he does inside dressing room or what he does tactically, as I'm too far away (from the team). I don't know what he speaks in team meetings but the way he looks after his players is remarkable.
"I keep saying about MS Dhoni and what I see of Virat on MS is fantastic. A champion player (Dhoni) who's probably on his last leg of his career and Virat coming and saying that he's my man and I want him to play. You just change a player," Ganguly added.
He praised Kohli for leading the Indian team brilliantly as under his captaincy the team
"I like Virat Kohli and when I see him on the field, I sit on my sofa and watch. I've said it many times he's a champion player. When I see him captaining India, he wants to win in all conditions. He's very passionate," Ganguly lavished praise on the current Indian skipper.
"Everyone has their own style. You have to allow an individual to blossom, allow to deliver."
Ganguly talked about his best legacy which was to create the self-belief of winning especially away matches.
"It's difficult to identify one series. We were 0-1 down and won 2-1 against Australia was remarkable in 2001," said the 45-year-old former skipper.
"But I keep saying you always be judged how you do outside India. Of all our wins, Pakistan was good as well. It's the belief we had of winning the way that's the legacy. After Dravid took over