Goodbye Again

Now that Pune Warriors India (PWI) is done with the current season of Indian Premier League (IPL) it’s in the process of reimagining and as expected Sourav Ganguly isn’t likely to feature in PWI’s future. Unlike most who walk this earth Sourav Ganguly has always had to prove his worth twice over in everything he did.

Refusing to obediently fulfill the dutiful tasks of the 12th man on the 1991-92 tour of Australia, Ganguly had to wait for half a decade before making a crackling debut. He might have been picked up on merit the first time around but the quota system helped him get a ticket to England 1996. Since then Ganguly has been doing everything twice over and even getting better at winning but it seems like his dream is finally over. 

When the IPL started Ganguly, much like Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar was automatic choice to lead his city. It’d be impossible to imagine a team from Kolkata without its prince but two seasons on he was shown the door by Shahrukh Khan. Bangalore and Punjab treated Dravid and Yuvraj in the same manner but Ganguly’s hurt was some how much more. While Rajasthan and Pune lapped up the second greatest Indian cricketer and the prodigal southpaw Ganguly went unsold at the yearly jamboree.

This ouster wasn’t anything new for Dada. The man who refashioned a talented but inconsistency Indian side into world-beaters had to prove his worth even while this transformation was underway. The then coach Greg Chappell publicly proclaimed that if Ganguly weren’t the captain he wouldn’t make the cut. It was a century against minnows Zimbabwe that helped him get back in the fold. His form might not have improved drastically but he regained enough confidence to take on non-playing

opposition.

Ganguly crawled his way back into IPL thanks to Yuvraj Singh, who as the captain of PWI got him in as a replacement for an injured Ashish Nehra. Life had come a full circle for Ganguly for someone whom he had mentored and nurtured helped him get back to playing cricket. Things took a strange turn when cancer stuck Yuvi and Ganguly was picked to lead PWI for IPL 2012. He was back at what he was best at and the team showed great promise but as the days passed the writing was clear on the

wall.

PWI says that Sourav Ganguly would be back next year as the mentor. If following his career has taught us something it’s never bet against Sourav Ganguly; chances are he’ll beat the odds and that too twice over. Sometimes we end up becoming victims of our own image. There is no dearth of fight in Sourav Chandidas Ganguly but the sad truth is that there aren’t any battles left for him.

This article originally appeared in Buzz in Town

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