Sourav Ganguly retired from International cricket in 2008. The started his last Test series under Anil Kumble while played his last test under MS Dhoni. 

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Everybody remembers MS Dhoni's gesture when he asked to Ganguly to captain the side on the final day of the last test match. However, Ganguly has revealed that he had once refused Dhoni's request to captain the side. 

"As the match came to a close, Mahendra Singh 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," Ganguly recalls in his upcoming book "A Century is Not Enough", to be released by the end of this month.

Ganguly shared a preview of this book on the publisher Juggernaut's page. 

In the preview, he reveals what was going through his mind exactly in the final moments of his test career. 

"Ironically, my captaincy career had begun exactly eight years ago on this very day. 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."

Sourav Ganguly had announced his decision to retire before the Test series against Australia. It was series that also saw the surprise retirement of Anil Kumble, the Indian test captain. 

Ganguly writes, "I asked Anil, are you ready to finish? He said he was. His answer consoled me. I felt if the captain of the team didn’t want to continue, my decision was right." 

Ganguly had an outstanding final series, getting a hundred in Mohali and narrowly missing another in Nagpur. 

In his final test, Ganguly was given a guard of honour by the Australian team under Ricky Ponting as he went out to bat. 

"It was very moving, and I felt very honoured by their gesture. But I knew, irrespective of the respect shown, the moment Brett Lee went back to his bowling mark, his first delivery would be aimed at my nose."

However, Ganguly's final innings in Test cricket was a first-ball duck. 

"I have no regrets. It was a bad shot and I paid the price. But I still regret missing the hundred. It was mine for the taking," writes Ganguly.

Ganguly said that he was filled with mixed emotions after his last match. 

"I felt extremely sad that the biggest love of my life was going away. On the other hand, I felt deeply satisfied that I had held my head high right till the end. I had competed with the best cricket team in the world in my final series and performed admirably. It proved that a certain Sourav Ganguly was still good enough."

"I always knew that this day would arrive and I was extremely happy at what I had achieved. It was time to march on. Think of the magical moments I had experienced along the way and remind myself that it had been an extraordinary run. There really was nothing more I could have asked from life."