Before Sourav Ganguly, India were a humble, polite team: Nasser Hussain

[MenInG]

The likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh have often credited former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Gangluly for changing the face of Indian cricket. The aggression and positivity with which Ganguly led India from 2000 to 2005 has been earmarked as one of the glorious eras of Indian cricket mainly because of the manner in which they played their cricket. Echoing the views of many former Indian greats, former England captain Nasser Hussain on Sunday lauded Ganguly for changing Indian cricket.

Hussain, who has played a lot of cricket against Ganguly, said the left-hander brought aggression into the game and before him India was a humble and polite team.

“Ganguly changed Indian cricket,” said Hussain in a podcast with Sky Sports. “Before Ganguly, India were a very humble, polite team. He made them a very feisty side.”

Hussain was talking about the NatWest Trophy final which India won courtesy brilliant half-centuries from Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh in 2002 and as soon as Zaheer Khan hit the winning runs, Ganguly took his shirt off and waved it from the Lord’s balcony.

Since then, Ganguly’s daring act has become a part of cricketing folklore. Hussain said the reason for the same was Andrew Flintoff’s celebration a year ago in Mumbai.

“Freddie bowled brilliantly at the death in that series, in scorching heat! He got the last wicket and, as was the fashion then, he whipped his shirt off.

“He was waving his shirt over his head and somewhere in Ganguly’s mind, he stored that and made sure he used it at a future date,” said Hussain.

Also Read | He said ‘I’ll cut your throat off’: Yuvraj recalls argument with Flintoff

From 1-3 down, England had gone on to level the six-match series 3-3 with a dramatic win in Mumbai.

Hussain also said the NatWest final defeat to India still haunts him at times.

“In those days, [325] that was a seriously good score! But we knew it was a very flat pitch and they had this Fab Five,” said Hussain.

“We got wickets at regular intervals and got them 146-5,” recalled Hussain.

“You ask me now what I still think about on the treadmill; I’ve got India in a final 146-5, chasing 326 - we’ve got Ganguly, Sehwag, Dravid, and Tendulkar out - that’s when you’re thinking what could I have done differently?

[Did you take the foot off the gas?] “I didn’t. But, looking back, I guess some of our team might have done. Not in the fact they did anything different or that I actually saw someone, but it must be a natural reaction.

“Ganguly, himself, admitted he thought the game was gone. They had two young lads coming in, in Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif who hadn’t yet done a lot for them.”

“It is the greatest innings that lad played. He will always be remembered for that,” Hussain added.

Mohammad Kaif had remained unbeaten on 87 off 75 balls as India chased down the target with three balls and two wickets in hand.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...ian-cricket/story-4hArmEBw4P6eyfxPm8O3dM.html

 

[Ab Fan]

Ganguly built Indian team from scratch, Dhoni took them to great wins and Kohli is taking us back to 90s, the time when we used to win a lot at home but were smashed overseas.

 

[Dulex9]

Ganguly made India into a fearless side who believed they could win and win abroad. They fought fire with fire.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Absolutely, before Ganguly, I remember Indian team as nothing but glorified record chasers who played for themselves and didn't win games.

Ganguly changed that.

Sehwag turbo charged it.

Indian cricket owes a lot to them.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Ganguly built Indian team from scratch, Dhoni took them to great wins and Kohli is taking us back to 90s, the time when we used to win a lot at home but were smashed overseas.

Really?
So we won a lot in overseas under dhoni?
Kohli has a much better record than dhoni in overseas tests.
In tests.
Ganguly made our team competitive oversras, dhoni took us back to 90s(not even home bullies) .

 

[Robert]

Hmm, I seem to remember India winning in England before Ganguly.

 

[MenInG]

Looks like an underhanded compliment.

 

[Bezli]

Kohli is a great batsman but ugly captain. He just can’t win overseas.

 

[Ab Fan]

Hmm, I seem to remember India winning in England before Ganguly.

In 2000s decade,

2002 tour- India drew in England
2007 tour- India won in England
2011 tour- Comical performance
2014 tour- Poor performance
2018 tour- Poor performance

 

[Bhaijaan]

Ganguly built Indian team from scratch, Dhoni took them to great wins and Kohli is taking us back to 90s, the time when we used to win a lot at home but were smashed overseas.

The overseas phainty started with Dhoni and has pretty much ended with Dhoni.

India now has a test series in Australian. First for any Asian team.

The scorecard tells a different story, but we were in a position to win 3-4 test matches in England instead of 1. Massive improvement was seen during last tour.

In South Africa, we won a test match and could have easily won another and taken the series 2-1

NZ was a disaster unexpected

This is while ignoring how we continue to win in Srii Lanka, WI without much effort

 

[andy0204]

Nope Navab Pataudi taught India to play fearless cricket.

 

[Hitman]

It's funny how much I despised Dada till around 2005. I couldn't stand him because of his big mouth and arrogance. And it's now I realize how wrong I was and how much of a boon he was for Indian cricket. I now love and respect the man as much as Sachin. Just look at how many former players have said how Dada was instrumental in their careers. Even Sachin spoke so lavishly about Dada in his book.

 

[andy0204]

People are forgetting due to Ganguly,India were winning overseas matches.
Let me remind you India were winning overseas before Ganguly and before 1990's.
Won a series in Newzealand 1968
Won a series in WestIndies in 1971
Won a series in England in 1971
Drew a series in Newzealand 1976
Drew a series in Australia 1981 against strong Australia team which includes Dennis Lillie and Greg Chappell
Won a series in England in 1986 against England team who just won the Ashes during that time
Could have won in Australia in 1986 due to weather and Borders blockathan and umpiring errors India just drawn a series.

 

[Ab Fan]

People are forgetting due to Ganguly,India were winning overseas matches.
Let me remind you India were winning overseas before Ganguly and before 1990's.
Won a series in Newzealand 1968
Won a series in WestIndies in 1971
Won a series in England in 1971
Drew a series in Newzealand 1976
Drew a series in Australia 1981 against strong Australia team which includes Dennis Lillie and Greg Chappell
Won a series in England in 1986 against England team who just won the Ashes during that time
Could have won in Australia in 1986 due to weather and Borders blockathan and umpiring errors India just drawn a series.

India were a strong team in 70s, then a drop in 80s(mostly because of home matches as there weren't any good spinners) and then in 90s we won a lot at home but none overseas.

So things changed in 2000s where we won a lot at home also and overseas also.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Ganguly built Indian team from scratch, Dhoni took them to great wins and Kohli is taking us back to 90s, the time when we used to win a lot at home but were smashed overseas.

we never used to obliterate teams like we do now at home. We also don't lose away when we win the toss.

pannauti kohli always loses the toss away from home and that seems to inhibit the team

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

If there is one man who deserves credit for changing the direction of Indian cricket it's Ganguly. Shame how the whole Chappell saga turned out though. He didn't deserve to leave his job so unceremoniously after everything he did for Indian cricket.

 

[Saj]

And Pakistan have gone the other way - too polite, too humble compared with teams of yesteryear.

 

[Forum363]

And Pakistan have gone the other way - too polite, too humble compared with teams of yesteryear.

Years of being the most controversial team followed by the spot fixing scandal in 2010 meant we had to calm things down. We got to a point where we had average players but terrible discipline. Misbah took over and we had a team of safe players and nice guys who generally followed the law.

I hope this comes full circle with the likes of Shaheen, Naseem and perhaps Shadab brining the passion back into our cricket with the calm head of superhuman Babar at the top to oversee things.

Unfortunately Misbah needs to go from the management soon, his time is done.

 

[Saj]

Years of being the most controversial team followed by the spot fixing scandal in 2010 meant we had to calm things down. We got to a point where we had average players but terrible discipline. Misbah took over and we had a team of safe players and nice guys who generally followed the law.

I hope this comes full circle with the likes of Shaheen, Naseem and perhaps Shadab brining the passion back into our cricket with the calm head of superhuman Babar at the top to oversee things.

Unfortunately Misbah needs to go from the management soon, his time is done.

Some fair points yes.

But Pakistan cricket is at its best when it's snarling, in the face of the opposition and spitting venom.

Forget this yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir, approach.

 

[Savak]

Years of being the most controversial team followed by the spot fixing scandal in 2010 meant we had to calm things down. We got to a point where we had average players but terrible discipline. Misbah took over and we had a team of safe players and nice guys who generally followed the law.

I hope this comes full circle with the likes of Shaheen, Naseem and perhaps Shadab brining the passion back into our cricket with the calm head of superhuman Babar at the top to oversee things.

Unfortunately Misbah needs to go from the management soon, his time is done.

Disagree with this. The ultimate equalizer is winning and putting quality players on display. The boring, playing for yourself regardless of team results, not upsetting things at the PCB has put us back a good 10 years vis a vis the Big 5.

 

[Rajdeep]

And Pakistan have gone the other way - too polite, too humble compared with teams of yesteryear.

You are right there Saj and the change of millenium seems to have completely swapped the mindset. Let me give you an example.

India played a short 3 match ODI series in Pakistan back in 1997. We lost the series 2-1 but won the 2nd game in Karachi thanks to Rajesh Chauhan's last over six. Our team back then were like scared kittens. The body language of Indian team in the entire tournament was of a team who was scared and had accepted defeat even before it started.

7 years later in 2004 we visit same Karachi again but like a boss. Its as if with the change of millenium our entire psyche has changed. The fearless onslaught of Sehwag in the beggining, that diving catch of Mohammed Kaif at mid wicket etc.were clear signs that we are no longer in 1997 and a different team now.

Saurav Ganguly indeed deserves a lot of credit to change that meek mindset of 1997 to the confident lot we were in 2004. In 1997 we were happy to be there, in 2003 we wanted to rule. What we see team India today is reaping benefits of what Ganguly sowed.

 

[Forum363]

Some fair points yes.

But Pakistan cricket is at its best when it's snarling, in the face of the opposition and spitting venom.

Forget this yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir, approach.

You have to have the talent and flair to back it up. Even if they were inconsistent, players like Afridi / Akhtar did that. And the opposition feared them.

There was no need for Shehzad and Umar to try and have that ‘in your face’ personality. It would have been better for them to stay as yes sirrr.

 

[Forum363]

Disagree with this. The ultimate equalizer is winning and putting quality players on display. The boring, playing for yourself regardless of team results, not upsetting things at the PCB has put us back a good 10 years vis a vis the Big 5.

No one is saying we’ve been brilliant. But the players we had were limited and getting them to show fake bravado would have made things worse. We’ve seen the example of Akmal / Shehzad etc.

It’s not like we had the talent and flair but were suppressing it and forcing everyone to be nice.

 

[Greenstorm]

And Pakistan have gone the other way - too polite, too humble compared with teams of yesteryear.

This. And guess who is responsible for that .

 

[TalhaSyed]

This. And guess who is responsible for that .

You see this time and time again.

A team gets disgraced (e.g. ball tampering, match fixing etc.)

They look to change the image of the team and win fans back.

They go down the polite/being a good sportsmanship route.

That was why Misbah was appointed captain after the spot fixing saga since he was calm, mature, educated, level headed influence on a then manic changing room. He changed the way Pakistani cricket was viewed by the world after being disgraced.

Another more recent example of this is the Australian team after the ball tampering saga. Check out The Test documentary on Amazon Prime if you have not already and you will see a lot of talk about how after that incident - even till now - Australia are looking to win back the countries respect.

Lots of chat about the difference between banter (i.e. doing push ups in the centre of Lords) and abuse (i.e. being obnoxious). Nothing wrong with aggression on the sports field but it's a fine line which each individual player needs to suss out for himself.

 

[Greenstorm]

You see this time and time again.

A team gets disgraced (e.g. ball tampering, match fixing etc.)

They look to change the image of the team and win fans back.

They go down the polite/being a good sportsmanship route.

That was why Misbah was appointed captain after the spot fixing saga since he was calm, mature, educated, level headed influence on a then manic changing room. He changed the way Pakistani cricket was viewed by the world after being disgraced.

Another more recent example of this is the Australian team after the ball tampering saga. Check out The Test documentary on Amazon Prime if you have not already and you will see a lot of talk about how after that incident - even till now - Australia are looking to win back the countries respect.

Lots of chat about the difference between banter (i.e. doing push ups in the centre of Lords) and abuse (i.e. being obnoxious). Nothing wrong with aggression on the sports field but it's a fine line which each individual player needs to suss out for himself.

We give to much importance to 'how the world perceives us'. Ultimately success defines your worth.

Misbah's appointment as captain made sense if it was a stop-gap 2 year thing. Instead, he lingered on until 2017. Just before leaving, he managed to appoint his successor in the shape of Azhar who continued the project of building a docile, harmless team. As a result, now there is not a single cricketer in Pakistan worth captaining the national side.
Now that 'the dictator' is back', get ready for another decade of humiliation and sorrow.

There is accountability in the Australian system. Tim Paine does not enjoy the kind of power Misbah does nor he is satisfied with respectable defeats.

 

[TalhaSyed]

We give to much importance to 'how the world perceives us'. Ultimately success defines your worth.

Misbah's appointment as captain made sense if it was a stop-gap 2 year thing. Instead, he lingered on until 2017. Just before leaving, he managed to appoint his successor in the shape of Azhar who continued the project of building a docile, harmless team. As a result, now there is not a single cricketer in Pakistan worth captaining the national side.
Now that 'the dictator' is back', get ready for another decade of humiliation and sorrow.

There is accountability in the Australian system. Tim Paine does not enjoy the kind of power Misbah does nor he is satisfied with respectable defeats.

Some very valid points there which I agree with and some points which I respectfully do not.

In August 2016 Misbah got Pakistan to Number 1 in the Test rankings. You can't really ask for more as a Test captain so keeping Misbah in charge until 2017 made sense.

You're right - your success does define your worth. However, unfortunately in Pakistani cricket we have a plethora of cricketers who are - frankly speaking -small minded, short sighted & have brought great embarrassment to the country and our national team because they are willing to make a quick buck by talking crap about our own team, country, board etc.

Amongst these cricketers, a captain like Misbah who is level headed, mature and could handle himself in a public setting was a breath of fresh air.

Now don't get me wrong - you can be aggressive whilst remaining level headed, mature etc. and currently we do have a shortage of players who can do that. However, I don't think Misbah is to blame for that. We simply do not have someone like that.

Misbah picked up the Test captaincy during a difficult time, led the the Number 1 & retired less than a year after that.

He did his job.

Now it's time for other players to step up and do theirs rather than making excuses.

We haven't had an aggressive cricketer who has been able to establish his place in the national team - never mind be captain.

Sure Misbah is the coach/selector now which makes it easy to blame him for everything but it's time we wake up and smell the coffee rather than just pointing fingers.

Sarfraz came in as an "attacking cricketer" who could be an "aggressive captain", however within no time fans were complaining about him being too hyper on the pitch, his behaviour being poor, him abusing players etc. and once he lost form he was discarded.

Who's next?

Which other aggressive cricketer do we have lined up to be in the team never mind be captain?

Now we can't honestly sit here and say that Misbah is the reason we haven't been able to produce a single decent aggressive cricketer in the whole country during the past decade, who's banging on the door of the selectors of the national team thanks to outstanding performances in the domestic leagues and PSL.

 

[Saurav]

Ganguly built Indian team from scratch, Dhoni took them to great wins and Kohli is taking us back to 90s, the time when we used to win a lot at home but were smashed overseas.

We still had Sachin,Dravid,Kumble,Srinath when he took over.Even Bhajji debuted before he took over

 

[Saj]

You have to have the talent and flair to back it up. Even if they were inconsistent, players like Afridi / Akhtar did that. And the opposition feared them.

There was no need for Shehzad and Umar to try and have that ‘in your face’ personality. It would have been better for them to stay as yes sirrr.

Of course, otherwise you look foolish.

Misbah did it well with a steely determination and made full use of his experience. Sadly others have not and that's a concern.

 

[King_Kohli]

And Pakistan have gone the other way - too polite, too humble compared with teams of yesteryear.

True.
Lack of self confidence.

 

[Mo Dipsy]

True, Ganguly was feisty and it rubbed off on the team in a good way.

I remember watching India in the 90s. They had some very good players but were absolute kittens in terms of attitude. Sirinath for example was a very skilled bowler but he had a tame persona on the pitch. Same with Dravid.

 

[Mueez]

As Shoaib Akhtar would say - Pakistan misses “dilayri” on the pitch.

We miss that killer instinct.

For example when we play against India or Australia it looks like the players come on the field thinking they already have lost the match before a ball being bowled.

In my opinion, in order to fix that kind of mentality PCB should hire some professional psychologists.

 

[Hasan123]

After Dhoni and Kohli, Ganguly is one of my all time favourite Indian players. He truly changed the mentality of Indian cricket. He made them believe in themselves and also gave them the confidence to bite back at the opposition as Nas said. Dhoni than instilled a winning culture and ability to deliver under pressure . Kohli is installing a competitiveness and fitness culture into India.

The future of Indian cricket looks positive. Just need that ICC tournament and improve away from home to truly dominate. India aren't settling for 2nd best and have high standards. In the 90s, not many would have predicted the rise of Indian cricket.

You have to give credit to the BCCI.

 

[sshakir411]

Famous video on YouTube “Ganguly vs Youhana” shows just how much of a dada dada was lol

 

[Rajdeep]

A very good thing about Saurav is he tries to do justice to any role he has given irrespective of how small it is. He may not be a very talented batsman like Sachin or Kohli but this guy is a multi tasker.

For many who don't know, he hosts a bengali tv quiz show and does a brilliant job. It is most watched tv series in Bengal.

As a commentator he was really good and hence ICC invites him in most of their events.

As a head of cricket in bengal he did fantastic work to improve domestic set up. As a result Bengal reached Ranji trophy finals this year after god knows how long.

Doing a decent job as Delhi Daredevills mentor in IPL to nurture young players.

When he was a member of CAC along with Sachin and VVS, it was Ganguly who was most active in interviewing coaches and doing press conferences. Infact it was he who famously removed Shastri as coach and hired Kumble for the role.

A contracted cricket expert with India today and Aaj tak news channels. He often does shows and gives expert opinion on match days.

He sponsors a youtube channel called xtra time which provides all cricket related news.

Now he is head of BCCI.



How much multitasking one can do, this guy is a prime example. He is pretty rich and can just live a luxurious life of a celebrity but he never wants to stop.

What a top lad.

 

[tyron_woodley]

warrior prince. India will undoubtedly win off trophies with him at the helm.

 

[subshakerz]

The overseas phainty started with Dhoni and has pretty much ended with Dhoni.

India now has a test series in Australian. First for any Asian team.

The scorecard tells a different story, but we were in a position to win 3-4 test matches in England instead of 1. Massive improvement was seen during last tour.

In South Africa, we won a test match and could have easily won another and taken the series 2-1

NZ was a disaster unexpected

This is while ignoring how we continue to win in Srii Lanka, WI without much effort

Losing 3-1 in 2014 and then losing 4-1 in 2018 is not improvement. India had a much stronger side than 2014 and were expected to demolish England, who were in poor form. No team that is serious about their no.1 title would find being competitive acceptable.

 

[subshakerz]

The overseas phainty started with Dhoni and has pretty much ended with Dhoni.

India now has a test series in Australian. First for any Asian team.

The scorecard tells a different story, but we were in a position to win 3-4 test matches in England instead of 1. Massive improvement was seen during last tour.

In South Africa, we won a test match and could have easily won another and taken the series 2-1

NZ was a disaster unexpected

This is while ignoring how we continue to win in Srii Lanka, WI without much effort

Losing 3-1 in 2014 and then losing 4-1 in 2018 is not improvement. India had a much stronger side than 2014 and were expected to demolish England, who were in poor form. No team that is serious about their no.1 title would find being competitive acceptable.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Losing 3-1 in 2014 and then losing 4-1 in 2018 is not improvement. India had a much stronger side than 2014 and were expected to demolish England, who were in poor form. No team that is serious about their no.1 title would find being competitive acceptable.

stronger?

india just don't prepare like pakistan did.

Virat's india would absolutely annihilate any team from any era in Asia. They are kings to Asia.

They also won in australia.

India dint prep for England because india don't consider England as a benchmark for greatness.

winning in australia and india is much harder for any team.

pakistan played vs Ireland and county games prior to facing England and that is a huge advantage.

India played rubbish t20 and odi before facing England.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Some fair points yes.

But Pakistan cricket is at its best when it's snarling, in the face of the opposition and spitting venom.

Forget this yes sir, no sir, 3 bags full sir, approach.

For that you need the machinery to proceed otherwise it becomes a farce.
Our bowlers play with that approach at times but with batters like we have, can't expect them to be in the opponents face only to see their stumps or their head rattle the next delivery.

 

[gani999]

Nope Navab Pataudi taught India to play fearless cricket.

This.

M.A.K. Pataudi also taught the Indian cricketers to rise above Bombay, Madras, Bangalore, Delhi etc, and play for India. That's how divided it used to be in those days. He infused the national spirit in the team. He also captained India to their first overseas test win against New Zealand in 1968.

Tiger was one of the greatest ever captains of the Indian team. Shame that he is hardly given his due, and is known more for marrying a starlet and fathering a couple of bad Bollywood actors than for his exploits on the cricket pitch. He was a prolific run scorer too, notwithstanding his bad eye.

 

[Ab Fan]

We still had Sachin,Dravid,Kumble,Srinath when he took over.Even Bhajji debuted before he took over

Match fixing took India to the darkest phase of Indian cricket. Rejuvenating the team from there meant building the team from scratch.

 

[Saurav]

Match fixing took India to the darkest phase of Indian cricket. Rejuvenating the team from there meant building the team from scratch.

Yeah but he didnt do that alone.All those guys did and he had massive backing from BCCI in Dalmiya days

 

[Ab Fan]

Yeah but he didnt do that alone.All those guys did and he had massive backing from BCCI in Dalmiya days

Ofcourse, it's the team that will play a role for a great captain. Allan Border as great a captain he was, will not win more matches than Virat Kohli because team matters.

But Ganguly brought that aggressive style of cricket in play for India. His decision to make Sehwag opener turned out to be a master-stroke. The backing of other players like Yuvraj, Harbhajan was visible under his captaincy. The fielding turnaround started in Indian cricket from this phase only.

He revolutionized Indian cricket, taught us how to win overseas, remember we didn't had a decent fast bowler, Zaheer was young and injury prone. But overall, the team played like a unit and did very well for Indian cricket.

 

[Saj]

For that you need the machinery to proceed otherwise it becomes a farce.
Our bowlers play with that approach at times but with batters like we have, can't expect them to be in the opponents face only to see their stumps or their head rattle the next delivery.

That's the problem - a distinct like of Miandad-type, in your face batsmen who didn't mind rattling the bowlers.

 

[Forum363]

That's the problem - a distinct like of Miandad-type, in your face batsmen who didn't mind rattling the bowlers.

I hope Haider can be like that.

In my opinion - the one currently most likely to do this is Imam. He isnt the most aggressive batsman and his performance needs to improve but I get the feeling that if he gets set in the team and his game goes up a notch, he can be that batsmen who gets into the bowlers mind.

Babar needs to keep his calm personality and be more like Williamson than Kohli since that’s what comes natural.

 

[ManFan]

L.O.L!

India became quietly confident under Ganguly but it was not until they dominated the financial aspect of the game that they became the loud-mouth wannabe rockstars with tattoos and beards they are today.

BBCI and not Ganguly made them turn a new corner.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Ofcourse, it's the team that will play a role for a great captain. Allan Border as great a captain he was, will not win more matches than Virat Kohli because team matters.

But Ganguly brought that aggressive style of cricket in play for India. His decision to make Sehwag opener turned out to be a master-stroke. The backing of other players like Yuvraj, Harbhajan was visible under his captaincy. The fielding turnaround started in Indian cricket from this phase only.

He revolutionized Indian cricket, taught us how to win overseas, remember we didn't had a decent fast bowler, Zaheer was young and injury prone. But overall, the team played like a unit and did very well for Indian cricket.

india always had a good opening bowler. it's the support cast that genuinely failed then overseas every time.

if srinath played alongside say zaheer and shami then it would have been a totally different attack. Post 2015 is when we saw 3 top bowlers emerge for tests with shami, bumrah and bhuvi.

bhuvi us such an underrated test bowler and so is ishant.

 

[Robert]

In 2000s decade,

2002 tour- India drew in England
2007 tour- India won in England
2011 tour- Comical performance
2014 tour- Poor performance
2018 tour- Poor performance

India won in WI in 1971, then won in England, and won in England again in 1986.

 

[gani999]

L.O.L!

India became quietly confident under Ganguly but it was not until they dominated the financial aspect of the game that they became the loud-mouth wannabe rockstars with tattoos and beards they are today.

BBCI and not Ganguly made them turn a new corner.

That's a good point. Financial muscle always inspires confidence.

Which is why I think that India's 1983 WC victory was one of the greatest ever achievements by any team in the history of the game. India were little above minnow level back then and BCCI was one of the poorest boards, but that didn't stop the team from beating the topmost side to lift the cup.

An achievement is what happens when a small person does a big thing.

 

[ManFan]

That's a good point. Financial muscle always inspires confidence.

Which is why I think that India's 1983 WC victory was one of the greatest ever achievements by any team in the history of the game. India were little above minnow level back then and BCCI was one of the poorest boards, but that didn't stop the team from beating the topmost side to lift the cup.

An achievement is what happens when a small person does a big thing.

True.

India‘s modern cricketing genesis really is 1983.

Kapil Dev is widely respected by even the most staunch Pakistani fans for his leadership during that tournament.

 

[tyron_woodley]

That's a good point. Financial muscle always inspires confidence.

Which is why I think that India's 1983 WC victory was one of the greatest ever achievements by any team in the history of the game. India were little above minnow level back then and BCCI was one of the poorest boards, but that didn't stop the team from beating the topmost side to lift the cup.

An achievement is what happens when a small person does a big thing.

real respect is earned when you win in tests and prove to be the number 1 ranked team. India were average in the 80s.

 

[Robert]

That's a good point. Financial muscle always inspires confidence.

Which is why I think that India's 1983 WC victory was one of the greatest ever achievements by any team in the history of the game. India were little above minnow level back then and BCCI was one of the poorest boards, but that didn't stop the team from beating the topmost side to lift the cup.

Gavaskar, Amanarth, Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Kapil were not near-minnows. There were all fantastic players.

Roger Binny and Madan Lal each got more wickets in that WC than Lillee, Hadlee, Imran, Roberts, Garner, Holding or Marshall.

I don’t know where this idea that India were useless before Ganguly comes from, it is not born out by fact.

 

[andy0204]

Gavaskar, Amanarth, Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Kapil were not near-minnows. There were all fantastic players.

Roger Binny and Madan Lal each got more wickets in that WC than Lillee, Hadlee, Imran, Roberts, Garner, Holding or Marshall.

I don’t know where this idea that India were useless before Ganguly comes from, it is not born out by fact.

Imran played as a batsman in that WC due to injury.

 

[gani999]

Gavaskar, Amanarth, Viswanath, Vengsarkar, Kapil were not near-minnows. There were all fantastic players.

Roger Binny and Madan Lal each got more wickets in that WC than Lillee, Hadlee, Imran, Roberts, Garner, Holding or Marshall.

I don’t know where this idea that India were useless before Ganguly comes from, it is not born out by fact.

I was talking about India as a team. While the individual players may have been good, the element of clicking together as a team was largely missing in India before the 1990s.
You may have individually talented players but if the spirit of playing as a team for the country is missing, you are not going to win any tournament. That is what made India a near-minnow side inspite of all its talent.

Read my post about why I consider M.A.K Pataudi as one of India's greatest captains.

 

[Robert]

Imran played as a batsman in that WC due to injury.

Ah yes, his shin splints were playing him up.

 

[Robert]

I was talking about India as a team. While the individual players may have been good, the element of clicking together as a team was largely missing in India before the 1990s.
You may have individually talented players but if the spirit of playing as a team for the country is missing, you are not going to win any tournament. That is what made India a near-minnow side inspite of all its talent.

Read my post about why I consider M.A.K Pataudi as one of India's greatest captains.

Hmm, they certainly played that World Cup as a team, and they did win the tournament.

 

[Ab Fan]

India won in WI in 1971, then won in England, and won in England again in 1986.

India were a solid team in 70s, slightly lower in 80s(because of lack of spinners), became home bullies in 90s but were excellent in 2000s and post. But Ganguly did won India overseas test matches after a long period.

I will label these Indian players as Indian greats atleast.

70s- Gavaskar, Bedi, Vishwanath, Chandra
80s- Kapil Dev, Amarnath, Vengsarkar
90s- Azharuddin, Tendulkar, Kumble, Srinath

00s- Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag, Laxman, Zaheer, Harbhajan
10s- Kohli, Pujara, Ashwin, Shami, Bumrah

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

For all dada fans

 

[Saj]

Man, I hated Ganguly when he played, as I knew that he would not give it away easily and would fight to the end. He had this attitude, this mannerism about him that you knew he could lift a whole team.

He was one of those cricketers who reminds of the footballers that opposition fans hate but the team they play for absolutely love.

 

[chazam]

Man, I hated Ganguly when he played, as I knew that he would not give it away easily and would fight to the end. He had this attitude, this mannerism about him that you knew he could lift a whole team.

He was one of those cricketers who reminds of the footballers that opposition fans hate but the team they play for absolutely love.

he comes from Kolkata.. a place crazy about football in India. Also i heard from him in one of the interview that till the age of 14, he was more interested in football like most of the Bengali kids.
One of the best thing to happen to Indian cricket after that 2000 fixing scandal. Him, Sachin,Dravid,Kumble,Srinath,VVS.. absolute gentleman and champion players. If not for these guys Indian cricket would not have recovered.

 

[Hitman]

he comes from Kolkata.. a place crazy about football in India. Also i heard from him in one of the interview that till the age of 14, he was more interested in football like most of the Bengali kids.
One of the best thing to happen to Indian cricket after that 2000 fixing scandal. Him, Sachin,Dravid,Kumble,Srinath,VVS.. absolute gentleman and champion players. If not for these guys Indian cricket would not have recovered.

I read in an interview that even today he would rather watch a football match on TV than a cricket match.

 

[Abdullah719]

Sourav Ganguly made Indian cricket tough, says Nasser Hussain

New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Recalling the 2002 Natwest finals against India, former England skipper Nasser Hussain praised Sourav Ganguly and said that 'Dada' made Indian cricket tough.

Hussain was speaking at an interaction with Ian Bishop and Elma Smit as part of the ICC podcast titled 'Cricket Inside Out' and it was then that the former England captain was asked to talk about the Natwest finals in 2002.

"The Natwest final against India is my most favourite and least favourite game I have ever played in. It is one of the great ODI games that we had in that generation. India had not made it to the finals for a long time and it was looking that they would lose the finals," Hussain said during the podcast.

"I enjoyed playing against Ganguly. I have always said, Ganguly made Indian cricket tough, before Sourav they were just a nice bunch to play with, Sourav made them into a tough and determined side. When he took his shirt off in the finals, it was trademark, Ganguly. I am a massive fan of him," he added.

In the Natwest final, India was given a target of 326 to win the match. India was struggling at 146/5 when both Yuvraj and Kaif got together at the crease.

The duo put on a partnership of 121 runs to give India a glimmer of hope in the match.

Yuvraj was dismissed for 69 runs, but Kaif batted well, as a tailender, to give India a win in the final over by two wickets and with three balls to spare.

After the win, then skipper Ganguly took off his shirt and celebrated from the Lord's dressing room.

During England's innings, Hussain also scored a century and went on to play a knock of 115 runs.

Over the years, Ganguly went on to become one of the most successful Indian skippers.

Under his leadership, India defeated Pakistan in Pakistan for the first time in a Test series.

He also guided India to the finals of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Ganguly played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs.

The swashbuckling left-handed batsman scored 18,575 runs across all formats in his international career.

In October 2019, Ganguly became the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). (ANI)

https://www.aninews.in/news/sports/...cket-tough-says-nasser-hussain20200704170553/

 

[Bhaijaan]

Gavaskar has slammed Nasser for this comment apparently.

I can see from where he comes and rightly so. Gavaskar had also earlier ridiculed young Indian cricketers including Kohli for saying similar things that previous Indian teams were not tough.

Kohli had said Ganguly made India win overseas, to which Gavaskar was quick to point out that India had won test series in England and West Indies way back in the 1970s.