Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was known for his aggressive attitude. Considered to be one of the best Indian captains to have graced the game, he never shied away from speaking his mind. He has been attributed with changing the mindset of the Indian team and instilling a winning attitude in them.
However, the cricket lovers across the globe were stunned when he announced his retirement from the game in 2008. Sourav Ganguly rarely talked about his decision of retirement, but now it seems as if he is ready to tell the world about his decision.
In his debut book, ‘A Century is Not Enough’, Sourav Ganguly finally opens up about his decision. Sourav’s debut book will be available in the market by the end of the month.
The former Indian cricketer shared a preview of the book published on Juggernaut’s page.
The preview of the book talks about the day when Sourav Ganguly decided to end his international cricketing career. “…I had been left out of the Rest of India squad, which is a clear indicator of how the selectors feel about you. Me dropped? The Asian batsman and player of the year left out from a Rest of India team, I asked myself,” Sourav Ganguly writes.
“I was angry. Disillusioned,” Ganguly added.
Sourav Ganguly was so upset with the decision that he decided to call that time skipper Anil Kumble and asked him, whether he thought Ganguly was no longer the automatic choice for playing eleven? However, the former Indian spinner Anil Kumble, explained to him that he was not consulted before the selection committee chaired by Dilip Vengsarkar took this decision.
“Go and play domestic cricket and convey a strong message to the selectors. Around that time I could only think of one cricket tournament that was coming up, the JP Atrey Memorial Trophy in Chandigarh… I called MP Pandove, the lifeblood of the Punjab Cricket Association, to tell him I desperately needed a team to play. He was of immense help and quietly obliged me even though my request had come in at the last minute.”
“It was the seven toughest days of my cricketing career,” Ganguly writes.
When Ganguly was selected in the Indian squad for the first two Test matches of the Australian series and the Board President’s team that would take on the Australians in Chennai, he got the message loud and clear that he was once again been put on the trial basis and that’s when he decided to quit.
“I wouldn’t let anyone else decide my future anymore. I wouldn’t go through the ordeal again. I had had enough! Yes, I was angry. After reaching Bengaluru, I informed Kumble that my mind was made up and I would announce shortly,” writes Ganguly.