Ganguly says he has achieved almost everything as captain whereas he believed he still had a lot to offer as a player in the Indian team.
LONDON: Managing the England football team may appear to be one of the most difficult assignments in the world of sports but former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, after his six-year stint in the hot seat, feels leading Team India is even tougher.
In an exclusive interview to BBC World Service Sport, Ganguly had no doubt that Eriksson’s was a less challenging job than the one he had.
“It’s a big job. It’s as big a job as Mr Eriksson’s — I would say probably bigger because you have more people following. Everybody has an opinion. There are lots of media, about 50 television channels. Everybody gives an opinion how the team can play better. When you play well, they love you to bits, when you don’t, they criticise you to bits,’’ Ganguly said.
“That’s the way it is but I think after a time you just get used to it, you just put it aside and move on. At the end of the day, as long as you know you are giving your best, that’s all that matters,” added the southpaw who is here for a five-week county stint with Northamptonshire.
Ganguly also shared his opinion on his successor Rahul Dravid. Revealing Dravid had approached him for advice in Pakistan, Ganguly said, “...he did at times, but I think he did a good job on his own. I always believe he should be allowed to do it the way he thinks. Too much interference doesn’t help, so I took a back seat. But as a past captain it was my job to sit back and concentrate on my cricket and whenever asked for advice, I’d do it.”
Asked how he felt to play against Sri Lanka and Pakistan after stripped off captaincy, Ganguly said, “I enjoyed it because I captained India for six years, which I think is a pretty long time. I don’t think many captains have captained India for six years in a row. It’s hard work.”
“I played one Test against Sri Lanka in Delhi and one against Pakistan in Karachi and I enjoyed it because you just think about your own cricket. Of course you think about the team, but not in the same manner as you do if you are captain.”
Asked about being first stripped off captaincy and then sacked, Ganguly said, “Losing the captaincy did not hurt me much because I don’t think I would have achieved any more as a captain. I captained 50 Test matches for India and nearly 160 one-day games, I think that’s quite a bit, but I still feel I can be a part of this team and contribute successfully. Obviously not getting a place as a player was difficult.’’ Ganguly is confident that it’s not over yet and he can earn the selectors’ nod with some good show in county cricket. “I’m just 33 and (in) the last Test series I played, I did very well, so I am sure there is a lot of cricket left in me.”
He, however, skirted the issue of his reported spat with coach Greg Chappell and said he was looking ahead. “Well I don’t know about that. I don’t want to comment on that. I don’t want to make an issue about that. All I can say is what is in my hands is to score runs and take wickets and I’d better concentrate on that,’’ he said.
He is even confident to make it to the 2007 World Cup. “I’ve been one of the best performers in the last two World Cups for India, very close to 1,000 World Cup runs, so I’m looking orward to it and if I get an opportunity it will be good,’’ he said.
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