Nagpur Test against Australia was Ganguly's final International match.
Former India captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has recalled a wonderful gesture from MS Dhoni when the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman made his final day of his international career memorable way back in 2008.
Ganguly recounted that he was surprised by one of the most memorable gestures shown by then captain Dhoni when he offered one of India’s greatest-ever captains on his last day of international cricket to lead the Indian cricket team for one last time that has etched in the latter’s memories forever.
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Speaking to Mayank Agarwal during an interaction for BCCI, Ganguly said he was surprised by Dhoni's gesture when he handed over the captaincy to him in the final session of the Test match against Australia, as the latter did not expect it coming his way on the final day of his international career.
Ganguly led the team for a period of 3-4 overs before handing it back to Dhoni while India gave the former captain a perfect send-off as they won the Nagpur Test by 172 runs and the series 2-0 against Australia– which was the legendary captain’s last Test match as well as the final day at the international arena.
Winding the clock back to recall the guard of honor he received, Ganguly said: “My last Test match in Nagpur. It was the last day, the last session. I was walking down the steps at the Vidarbha Stadium. They (my teammates) stood beside me and allowed me to enter the ground.”
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He further added, “That (handing over captaincy) was a bit of a surprise. I didn't expect it. But MS Dhoni being MS Dhoni, he is full of surprises like his captaincy. We were winning the Test match and my mind was on retirement. I don't know what I did for those 3, 4 overs.”
Meanwhile, the former captain had revealed the same in his autobiography “Playing it My Way”.
Ganguly wrote in his autobiography: “As the match came to a close, MS Dhoni in a surprise gesture asked me to lead. I had rejected his offer earlier in the day, but could not refuse a second time. Ironically, my captaincy career had begun exactly eight years ago on this very day.”
He further added, “I handled the bowling changes and field placements while the last Australian wicket batted. But I must admit, at that stage, I found it difficult to focus. So, after three overs I handed it back to Dhoni saying, it is your job, MS. We both smiled.”
Noteworthy, Ganguly led India in 49 Tests winning 21 of those and losing only 13, later Dhoni bettered his record as he won 27 out of the 60 Tests for India.
(With India Today Inputs)