|
Australia in India 2008-09
'I was tired of being humiliated again and again' - Ganguly
Cricinfo staff
October 9, 2008
| ||
Sourav Ganguly, who will retire from international cricket after the Australian series, has said he was tired of the constant humiliation and at being singled out for scrutiny. He has also issued a sharply worded criticism of his team-mates, saying some "have changed their hairstyle more than they have scored".
"I am bound to feel bad. I had to fight with my heart," he told Aajkal, a Bengali daily. "If there is a gun to your head all the time, how long can you bear this? After all, I have played 400 matches for India. I have played badly in only one series. Yet every Tom, Dick and Harry is playing in the team.
"There are players who haven't scored in the last three series for India, even for the last one year. There are some who have changed their hairstyle more than they have scored for India.
"How long would I have played? Maybe upto 2009. Maybe seven more Tests. For that I was not prepared to take any more humiliation. I was tired of being humiliated again and again. I don't want to play cricket at the mercy of others."
Ganguly made an impressive return to international cricket after losing his captaincy, and his place in the side, in early 2006. "Everything is possible in Indian cricket," he said. When Greg (Chappell) dropped me, TP Singh (of Railways, now with the ICL) was my replacement. Where is he now?"
Asked what hurt more, being dropped by Chappell or being excluded from the Irani Trophy squad this year, Ganguly said: "Definitely the Irani Trophy. I couldn't imagine being dropped for that. That's when I said, not again.
"I thought a lot before reaching this decision. I have also thought about my plans for the next one year. If this (selection) committee had come three years earlier, the situation would have been slightly better for me."
| Comments have now been closed for this article |
||||||
Top
News : Irani Cup drop prompted my decision - Ganguly
News : 'Just one last thing, lads'
News : Ganguly to retire after Australia Tests
Access your Indian Rupee earnings from anywhere in the world.
Who is the best footballer in Europe?
Debate now on the new ESPN Soccernet Castrol Rankings Blog
FREE Cricket DVD offer at Cricshop
Cricshop.com - leading online cricket store
Rugby Union Autumn Internationals coverage
on www.scrum.com
Obviously they're Saurav die heart fan who talks about other players and Dhoni Test match Average here,if someone wants to compare Dhoni Batting perfomance with Ganguly,then make Ganguly indian wicketkeeper lol. Well talking about Ganguly he had his best days and he had his kingdom as a captain before Greg Chappel came as indian coach.Mentioning that point because looks like no one remembers he actually droped Sachin to middle order untill that became a serious issue and all the Cricket expert & media started commenting -ve on him,So he has proved for him team always comes 2nd & himself first,In middle order he has hardly made a half century in a oneday game,he's just not happy seeing india winning without him. Talking about him in Test match all should check his average and find out against which countries he have 40+ Average,So i'll say he's a good player no way a great player and its weird hearing his indirect comments on Sachin and Dravid.He has proved he still have big attitute.
Posted by gocricket1 on (October 10 2008, 19:22 PM GMT)Regardless of who it is, comments like these hurt the Team and the environment in the dressing room. I played cricket and manage the club for number of years (20) and we always had one mantra..."act as one against all odds" when playing against any team. Australia is no joke and team must be focused to play good cricket and stand up like one. Sorry to say selection committee should really think about this for remaining two test matches. There are players waiting to join and play as one. I liked Ganguly as a player and he did great job for India. Good luck to him for his future endeavors'
Posted by sacalak on (October 10 2008, 19:03 PM GMT)He is correct..he spoke wat ever he wanted to say frankly..hats off to him..I am supporting him though I am not a fan of him
Posted by mr_hooked on (October 10 2008, 18:04 PM GMT)More than 18,000 Runs coupled with the billigerence which metamorphosed the indian cricket team to a fighting side , cannot be an accomplishment of a player who deserve to be treated so trivially. If the benchstrength grows for team nothing could be better -apparently though if this imply that a young lad gets a chance ahead of a veteran tiger even if the latter is performing batter - pardon my audacity, You are hurled in lunacy and need proper treatment. Thank god my dear pal you were not in pakistan's selector in 1992 you would have changed their captain, and then only the omniquiscent can tel if they would have won the world cup!!!
Posted by srinepal on (October 10 2008, 16:30 PM GMT)i'm from NEPAL. i'm a fan of ganguly. i have been watching him from my childhood,but when i heard news from news channel i was shocked.though ganguly had faced some ups and down but it is not the attitute of the great player and also not in right time to give such interviews and blaming the selectors and co players though he had faced humiliation.i can understand ganguly's situation but he needs to be patient. Ganguly need to focus on his performance not on interviews. i dont have such expectation from him.i'm a big fan of him, but i need to tell that he had taken right decision to quit because he is in good form and had scored high individuals for india in recent time.all this makes individuals happier rather than quitting during poor performance.though he is poor in fielding he is still good in batting. any way boards and players should him good farewell which he deserves.
Posted by Sri7 on (October 10 2008, 13:13 PM GMT)Ganguly is correct, he has been humiliated time and again. He is paying the price of being a straight talker in a nation whose cricket is always about false-ego's and behind the back talks. Yes Sourav has ego but its up to ur face and he has quality (even now) to back it up. Sourav was never one to hide in a closet or weep silently. It might be a wrong time to voice his views but again will the world even care this much if he vents his anger after he has retired? What the "we-know-best's" of Indian cricket have done is to use Sourav when they needed him (bowing to his straight talk) and then go for his head at the first oppurtunity available. Every great player goes through bad patches. If you just want to talk about current form, I would say Sourav is just one series bad. I don't understand this concept of age in test cricket. I know that Sourav is a sloppy fielder, but his presence in the batting line up fills one with bravery. He is the BRAVE ONE, a rarity in Indian cricket.
Posted by Ankitsteam on (October 10 2008, 12:17 PM GMT)I always thought Dada was a shrewd leader and an intelligent man.But he has failed me.Outburst such as this at a time when he is in a team playing the world champions will not only anger fans of his such as me, but also will not make him popular in his dressing room. He could have easily waited for the Test Series to get over after which he had all of his life to speak about all his grievances.And its not that people wouldnt have heard him them.He has proved that for him self comes before the team. I loved Ganguly and now I hate him.
Posted by Nakul007 on (October 10 2008, 11:58 AM GMT)It really saddens me to see a member of the Indian cricket team speaking like this about his fellow players and in a way it highlights the long way that we still have to go in becoming the tight-knit, well oiled machine that the Australian team has become. I respect Ganguly for everything that he has achieved and will always remember how he brought the team together, however these comments were in bad taste. Also to the people who have said that he doesn't deserve to be treated the way he has been treated, I agree that Ganguly has been a great servant to Indian cricket but that should not immunise him from being dropped. Reputation does play a part in team selection but it only goes so far and if the selection committee feels that a member of the team deserves to be dropped then they should not have to consider whether they are a member of the "Fab Four" or not. Has anyone in the Australia team been granted this luxury. Look at Ian Healy as a classic example of this
Posted by RanjanMathur on (October 10 2008, 11:06 AM GMT)The timing of his comment saddens me. Ganguly has always been a great leader, but only when he has been the captain. As a senior player he has only created controversies for his benefits. This is another one of his creations. The timing of the comment needs to be questioned considering the affect it would have on the morale of other players, especially the fab four (Ganguly for me is the fifth). I am sure he would have got enough opportunity to complain after the all important series would have ended. Maybe he can come up with a bestseller....
Posted by RajitD on (October 10 2008, 10:54 AM GMT)Saurav was India's greatest captain, but he was not an automatic selection in the side for the last two years. There are people who find his dropping humiliating; but the fact of the matter is that Saurav is a flat track bully; who only rarely has conquered difficult tracks; unlike Drav.id, Sachin or VVS. Add to that, his fielding which is embarassing; and the generaly perceived attitude of being a poor sport; which this interview only corroborates. Its high time Saurav and everyone of his shrill parochial supporters look at the greater good of Indian cricket; and recognize that there's a time for everyone to leave; and Saurav is definitely the first in the line from out of the fab 4.