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8 instances when Ganguly silenced his fellow commentators

1720

We have seen different leaders in the long-standing course of India’s cricketing history. Despite Kapil Dev spearheading India to their first-ever World Cup triumph which bore witness to a fine performance in the finals against an insuperable West Indies to clinch the trophy in a low-scoring thriller, the revolution in the brand of captains started from 2000 when Saurav Ganguly stepped up as the leader of the pack.

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This is exactly when the world realized that a modest power like India is about to announce its first footfall in the canon of international cricket as an emerging superpower. After a string of super-polite captains, it was Ganguly who had an eye-for-an-eye attitude and paid his opponents back in the exact same coin that included making Steve Waugh wait for the toss in several occasions and flailing his jersey frenetically at Lords after India clinched a thriller in the 2002 Natwest Final, thereby completing his response against Flintoff’s zany celebrations of the same ilk at Wankhede.

In this article we will look at eight instances where Saurav Ganguly established the fact that he was not just a boss in the field but now the commentary box has a new leader in the making.

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8. When Saurav pointed out the whereabouts of Shahid Afridi’s brain

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As Ganguly was analyzing Shahid Afridi’s batting in World T-20 2012, he seemed absolutely relentless towards the Pakistani cricketer who was already having a hard time in the fray. His exact Words were, “On flat pitch fair enough, you still play on the bounce and on the length, but when it s turning square, you have to be a bit more careful. It’s [batting] about calculations and about brains, and at the moment Afridi has left it back in Pakistan.”

7. When Dravid got a taste of his own medicine

As Dravid was trying to pull his former skipper’s leg in the commentary box, saying, “Sanjay Manjekar made a really good point in the commentary box. If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.”

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Ganguly’s reply was sheer wit as he said, “I wish I was Prime Minister of India. I could have done a whole lot of things.”

6. When Ganguly glorified Dravid to his colleague in the box

As India struggled to fight against England in 2011 in their backyard, Rahul Dravid was the solitary man who ushered hopes for the Indians. This is when the witty exchange happened as David Lloyd said, “The beauty of Indian batting is when someone like Tendulkar fails, someone else does it and this time it was Dravid.”

Ganguly replied, “This time? He has done it time and again. He has done it day in and day out for 15 years!”

5. And Geoffrey Boycott would never dare to tease Ganguly again

Shedding light on the famous Lords incident, Boycott commented, “You must mention your experience about taking your jersey off and flying it in the air at the Mecca of Cricket: Lord s! Oh, you naughty boy!”

Ganguly retaliated, “One of your boys also took off his jersey here in Mumbai.

Boycott continued, “Yeah, but Lord s is the Mecca of cricket.”

Ganguly concluded, “Lord’s is your Mecca, and Wankhede is ours!”

4. When Ganguly forecasted earthquakes in the city

One of his ardent fans asked him about the fact that when did he want to come out with his autobiography. Ganguly retorted, “When I do [release my autobiography], it will create tremors, large ones, I m just waiting.”

3. Ravi Shastri learn the lesson the hard way

In an attempt to bring out some controversy from Saurav Ganguly, Shastri questioned, “In Eden Gardens, Kolkata, is there a Ganguly pavilion or Ganguly stand?

In another ‘Tera Baap Aya’ moment, Saurav responded, “The ground belongs to Ganguly!”

2. Greg Chappell must hear this!

Photo: Reuters

In a question-answer round with journalists, Rajdeep Sardesai made it a direct confrontation with Ganguly, asking, “Does Greg Chappell owe an apology to Indian cricket? To Sachin Tendulkar, to Sourav Ganguly, to Dravid?”

Ganguly said, “He can call up Tendulkar or Dravid. But he dare not dial my number. If he is hearing this on TV, he dare not call Sourav Ganguly.”

1. Naseer will simply never get the better of Saurav Ganguly

In a moment of banter, Naseer asked, “Nasser: “When can I see India in the FIFA World Cup?”

Ganguly replied, “If India had played football for 50 years, then we would have qualified for the finals at least once.”