Sachin-Harbhajan’s April Fool’s prank almost made me quit captaincy, recalls Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly revealed that an April Fool’s prank in the Indian dressing room, led by Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh almost made him quit his role as the national team skipper. The southpaw also revealed how the prank opened him up and helped him to both score runs and retain captaincy.
Sourav’s Ganguly reign as the Indian captain is often judged by the fact that he led the side to victory over the dominant nations in the early 2000s, including Australia and Pakistan, whilst also bringing about a cultural change in the country. However, the task of being a captain is often not easy and it was the case for Sourav Ganguly. During India’s series against Pakistan, the southpaw came under the scanner for his poor showing with the bat.
After a press conference, the 47-year-old recalled how the dressing room, led by Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, pranked him. Ganguly remembered and recalled how the duo led the dressing room to say that Ganguly’s words in the press conference hurt the team.
"I was a little disappointed because I wasn't scoring runs. As I entered the dressing room, the team members got together led by Sachin (Tendulkar) and Harbhajan Singh and were saying that they are very disappointed with what I said about the team in the media. I said, what did I say -- I was very sensitive at the time. They said that there were reports in the newspapers that you were not happy with the way the team has played," Ganguly said during an interaction for Unacademy, as quoted by IANS.
However, it irked the southpaw, who was ready to give up the job in case the team felt so as a unit. After Ganguly had shown his emotions and walked off a little upset, he recalled how Harbhajan jumped up and told him it was just an April’s Fool prank.
"I said if you guys feel that I will get upset about (the team not playing well) and I did something wrong, I am ready to resign today and I am ready for somebody else to take the captaincy. I said that and went and sat on my chair. Couple of minutes went away and I saw everybody jumping with laughter. I was really upset then and a little bit shocked at what I had just heard from the team. And then Harbhajan jumped up and said April Fool," Ganguly recalled.
While the prank had irked and put the southpaw down for a while, it helped him immediately with his batting performance, as he started scoring runs. Ganguly remained the Indian skipper for the next few years, with his batting form taking an immediate jump, and became a key member of the side, firmly establishing himself as one of the team's heartbeats.
"That I think worked well for me because I went and played well in the series. It just showed me how much my players cared. I wasn't scoring runs and they wanted me to feel good and believe that they will be there for me in my difficult times. It really opened me up," the former skipper said.