Former South African captain Graeme Smith has revealed that if an opposition poked Sourav Ganguly, they were likely to get something back. Ganguly was known to lead with aplomb and liked to take the bull by its horns. The former Indian captain was famous for his aggressive captaincy and never took a back step in his leadership.
Ganguly would mostly never start an altercation but if an opposition’s player tried to get under the skin of the Indian team, the former captain would give it back in his own style.
Ganguly believed in backing his players to the hilt and he would do the same on the field. Thus, it wasn’t easy to sledge the Indian under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly as he was known to back his methods.
In fact, Ganguly went to back players like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh, who were not afraid to have a verbal battle with the opposition on the field. India was mostly not considered as the team which would give it back to the opposition but Ganguly was able to turn the tide.
It was not only verbal battles but also India’s performances under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly improved remarkably.
Graeme Smith said while talking to Star Sports Cricket Connected, “You knew if you poked Dada, you were going to get something back always.”
On the other hand, Graeme Smith and former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara heaped praise on Sourav Ganguly for leading the Indian team from the front. Ganguly always had confidence in his abilities and got the best out of the players.
The southpaw batsman led India in 49 Test matches, in which the team won 21 and lost 13 whereas 15 ended in a draw. On the other hand, Ganguly led in 146 ODI matches in which the team won 76 and lost 65 whereas there was no result in five games.
Both Smith and Sangakkara added that Ganguly played with a lot of passion and the same was palpable in the team’s performances as he inspired the young players to give their best.
