Ganguly, who never quit, walks away

Finally, the announcement came at the time and place of his choosing, when the world was least expecting it.

Finally, the announcement came at the time and place of his choosing, when the world was least expecting it. It was just another Tuesday in Bangalore, a normal, boring afternoon in which players are expected to utter insipid nothings at a press conference two days before the match. Sourav Ganguly spoke about the pitch, the bowlers, the team’s strengths and weaknesses, and when all mundane questions had been addressed, he stopped the reporters for a final declaration.

“This is my last series…Hopefully, I will go out on a winning note,” he said, hurrying away before he could be probed further, more emotions running through him than his demeanor revealed.

Eighteen days before that, sitting in a coffee shop in Chandigarh — where he had come to play the local J P Atray tournament to escape the rains in Kolkata — he had calmly talked about his desire to fight on after being overlooked for the Irani Cup. “I’ll go, but not like this,” he had said with a glint in his eyes. “This isn’t the way it’s going to end.”

Story continues below this ad

In his latest moment of crisis — and there have been far too many over the last few years — Ganguly was strong, and determined that when he quit, it would be as a member of Team India.

Ganguly has been called many names but has seldom been fully understood. Lord Snooty. Prince of Kolkata. Divisive Force. God on the off side. He twirled his shirt at Lord’s and silently shed tears in Jamaica. He scored 144 in bouncy Brisbane, and supposedly ran away from a green Nagpur. To the cricket world, the real Dada was a mystery.

In an international career that spanned 16 years, with two breaks from which he was never expected to recover, no Indian cricketer has gone through all the gamut of emotions as often and as publicly.

Last Wednesday, on the day of his selection for the Australia Test series, he had told this correspondent: “I don’t know when I’ll quit. It’s not an easy decision, but the day is not far away.”

Story continues below this ad

Throughout his career, controversy was Ganguly’s constant companion. Back in 1992, he was dumped from the team, branded as a Maharaj who did not like to carry drinks. In 2005, he was set aside after coach Greg Chappell alleged he wrecked the dressing-room atmosphere by being manipulative. And even in 2007, he was accused of putting himself ahead of the team’s interests by playing for his bat manufacturer rather than his country. The theories were eventually proved wrong, but the tag remained attached.

After the fourth Test at Nagpur, his 113th, India’s famed middle-order will finally be split after 12 years. Reruns of Ganguly’s soft touch outside the off stump will play out on TV channels, and his aura will keep rising in proportion as time passes. That’s the joy of retirement: praise lives on, criticism is interred with the bones.

Ganguly has now taken the pressure off himself, and left the retirement roadmap for his other illustrious colleagues Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. The face of Indian cricket is set to change over the next year, but the last has not been heard of any of the five.

A magic trick is made up of three parts. Ganguly made his “pledge” in 1996 with a century on Test debut. He took the “turn” when he returned at the end of 2006 and emerged as the highest scorer in South Africa. Now, this Australia series is his final, triumphant bow — his “prestige.”

The Sourav Story

Story continues below this ad

• It was a routine press conference until Ganguly dropped the bomb

• Great timing, agree former Test cricketers

• Sourav: The story so far

• The Farewell tour: Four stories for four venues