Sourav Ganguly was unconventional and fiercely proud, reveals VVS Laxman

After Sourav Ganguly took over the leadership responsibilities of the Indian side, he not only had to win back the trust of the cricket fans lost to the match-fixing scandals but also help a group of young and talented cricketers on the way. He did both of that with elan as India won the Natwest Tri-series in England, reached the 2003 World Cup final and beat Pakistan in Pakistan while coming close to winning a Test series in Australia. 

VVS Laxman, who was his close ally all those while, paid tribute to the former Indian skipper by hailing his qualities on Twitter.

“Unconventional and fiercely proud, @SGanguly99 wore his heart on his sleeve. And, sometimes, bared it too! Empowering youngsters who went on to do wonders for the country was credit to his great leadership qualities,” Laxman wrote.

Even after retirement, Laxman and Ganguly shared many roles together to take their partnership beyond a cricket field. The duo was members in BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee before it got into the conflict of interest tangle. Laxman has also been a batting consultant with Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) - the association which Ganguly led for many years.