Sourav's Swansong

Its official. Former team India captain Sourav Ganguly has announced that this will be his last test series in Indian flannels. With that announcement, it could very well signify the end of an era for team India. This announcement also means this will be the last series where the so called "Fab Four" will play together for one last time.

Sourav Ganguly as a cricketer and a person has always polarised opinions. A maverick in his own right, he defied coventions and relied on his gut feeling. As a person, well, its really difficult to give an opinion on that. Andrew Flintoff with whom he played for Lancashire for a season or two said that "Having Ganguly in the side was like having Price Charles in the side. He turned up as if he were a royalty." If that doesnt give you any basis for forming an opinion, then sample this. Sourav made Aussie Captain Steve Waugh "wait" at the toss. As a result he got under the skin of "Iceman" as Steve was known. The result? Australian juggernaut was brought to a grinding halt. The final frontier remained unconquered and Steve's dream remained, well a dream. Nothing more.

As a captain Sourav managed to galvanise the team into a winning unit.He won the support of controversial characters like Harbhajan Singh. Of course it helped that he had a self less deputy in the form of Rahul Dravid. For those who swear by the numbers, here's a fact. He was the most successful captain India had ever produced. He often led the team fearlessly and it rubbed off on his team mates. He took the team to the door steps of glory during the 2003 world cup. His other conquests include winning the series in Pakistan and more importantly the drawn series down under. Of course the Australians were a bit emotional considering that it was Steve's final series. However Sourav led the way with a brilliant century in the first test.

As a batsman he was truly a prince. He was given the title "Lord Of The Off Side" and rightly so. His gorgeous drives on the off sides stood out and together with Sachin, they forged many memorable innings at the top. Although he was an opener in the shorther format of the game, he was at ease whenever he faced spinners. He treated them with disdain to say the least. He usually cleared the ground with minimum fuss. Of course there were mixed opinions about his ability to survive against the short ball. But inspite of these so called "chinks" in his armour he still managed to score more than 11,000 runs in the shorter format of the game. He was more than a useful bowler who had the knack of breaking partnerships. He also earned the title "The Man With The Golden Arm". He even opened the Indian bowling in a couple of test matches.

Love him or hate him, no one could could possibly deny that he was one in a generation cricketer and was the best captain India has ever produced. A graceful and elegant batsman, his end signals an end of an era in Indian cricket history. He was definetly a precious gem in the crown. Lets hope that he goes out witha bang. Farewll Sourav. Thanks for the memories. You were one of the very best.