Sourav Ganguly is among the most iconic Indian players ever. ‘Dada”s captaincy has been a huge part of the Indian Cricket Team’s evolution and the current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is etched in Indian cricketing folklore forever. Apart from his captaincy, it was Ganguly’s swashbuckling batting that made him a feared batsman around the world.
Known affectionately as the “God of the Offside”, Ganguly was responsible for giving India a plethora of exemplary starts as an opener. However, the left-handed batsman wasn’t an opener right from the very beginning. He had played 10 ODIs in his career by the time he was promoted as an opener in 1996. Now, Ganguly has revealed that it was the great Sachin Tendulkar‘s idea to have him open the innings.
Sourav Ganguly reveals Sachin Tendulkar’s role
Sourav Ganguly reflected on how he was promoted as an opener in an interview with Republic Bangla and said, “Before I started opening in one-day matches, I used to play in the middle order. Sachin came to me and said that you bat at No. 3 in Tests, we do not have an opening batsman, you try and open. I said fine, I’ll do it. From there, that’s how I became an opener.”
“I have this thing that if you give me responsibility, I will give my best shot. I don’t know what it is. When Sachin quit captaincy in 1999 (2000), I didn’t even know I would be taking charge. Back then Sachin and I were of the same age, no one could think someone other than Sachin could become India’s captain. He did not want to do it, so I took over and I did,” Ganguly added.
