Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq recently praised Sourav Ganguly, who became the BCCI President and praised him for doing a ‘tremendous job’.

He said that Ganguly had all the leadership qualities to take the sport forward in India. “Sourav Ganguly has done a tremendous job when he was captaining India and I am sure that he will go a long way in taking cricket forward in his country as the BCCI President. All the best and go ahead,” Saqlain said in a video uploaded on his YouTube video.

Sourav Ganguly reveals he had no fear on his Test debut at Lord's in 1996

“When we used to play, there used to be a tremendous amount of passion from both sides. The fans used to make their presence felt. There used to be some misunderstandings as well, and even I have been a part of it. However, once the match got over, we all used to put it behind us. I have never had a misunderstanding with Sourav,” he added.

Saqlain Mushtaq who picked 208 Test and 288 ODI wickets for Pakistan from 1995-2004, also recalled an amazing story about Sourav Ganguly, when the former India skipper won his heart just by lending a listening ear.

“When India was touring England, I was playing for Sussex. They had a three-day practice match in Sussex and Sourav (Ganguly) was not playing that match. Sussex won the toss and decided to bat. I think this had happened in 2005-06. I had undergone surgeries on both knees and was bed-ridden for 36-37 weeks. I was both down and depressed,” Mushtaq said.

“I was making a comeback in that post-surgery and Sourav had come to watch that match. Sourav had seen me from the balcony. I did not see him because our dressing room was facing the other direction,” said Saqlain.

He revealed how Ganguly just talked to him and how his words won his heart. “Ganguly then came to our dressing room and offered me a cup of coffee and enquired about my knees, life, family. Then we just started talking. He sat with me for 40 minutes and ended up winning my heart,” Mushtaq revealed.

Here is the video: