A book reveals how Ganguly’s gamble on a young MS Dhoni shaped the future of Indian cricket

Abhirup Bhattacharya wrote this all in his book "Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly".

Sourav Ganguly nd MS Dhoni            

Sourav Ganguly turns 46 today and has been receiving wishes from all over the world. The book by Abhirup Bhattacharya titled  "Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly" has an interesting story about Ganguly gambling on young players like Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh to build the concept of 'Team India' and 'Men in Blue'.   

"Ganguly's mantra was simple: If he believed that a youngster was talented, he would have enough opportunities to prove his worth. This provided a much-needed calmer atmosphere for the young player as it was certain that he will not be dropped after one failure," says the book.    

The book proves this mantra by using the example of MS Dhoni.

"MS Dhoni is a fine example of this policy. Despite failing in his first four innings, Sourav decided to pursue with the youngster who repaid with a 148-run knock against Pakistan. It was one innings which probably set Dhoni's career on a completely different trajectory," it says.    

Despite getting out for a duck in his debut ODI and failures in first few innings, Ganguly kept Dhoni in the team and he went on to become the most successful Indian captains with three ICC trophies and is also regarded as one of the best keeper-batsmen in world cricket.

"If Sourav had not persisted with him, India would have arguably lost its finest wicketkeeper-batsman till date," says the book, by Rupa Publications. 

"He was able to create a blend between the seniors and juniors in the team. The team looked up to him for guidance in moments of crisis,” Bhattacharya wrote in his book on Ganguly.

"If we ignore the controversy surrounding coach Greg Chappell, Sourav managed to create a healthy working relationship with coach John Wright in building the new team. It was the first time that Team India was having a foreigner as its coach; and the captain-coach duo together stitched the glorious years of Indian cricket," the book says.    

"Sourav focused a lot on building interpersonal relationships with his teammates and went on to create 'Team India'. The country started playing as a team under his leadership and was no longer solely dependent on the batting prowess of Sachin Tendulkar," it says. 

(With inputs from sports.NDTV.com)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 08 Jul, 2018

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