India's 2001 series win over Steve Waugh's all-conquering Australian side is seen as a pivotal moment in Sourav Ganguly's captaincy and indeed in the history of Indian cricket itself. Ganguly's status as India's captain was cemented and it started an era in which he oversaw India's rise back to the top echelons of world cricket from the ashes of the match fixing scandal that broke out in the late 1990s, most notably leading them to victory in the 2003 Natwest Series and to the final of the 2003 World Cup.
Among the architects of the 2001 series win was Harbhajan Singh. The former spinner, who was aged just 21 at the time, became the first Indian bowler to take a Test hat-trick in the pivotal Kolkata Test. It was Ganguly who had backed Harbhajan to play in the series and it ended up being the spinner's big international break.
However, Harbhajan feels that Ganguly's decision to include him in the squad was important to the latter's career as well. Replying to a question on 'What if Sourav Ganguly had not backed Harbhajan Singh?' on Sportskeeda, the spin great has now said: “Toh woh captaani se hat jate (Then he wouldn't have remained captain). I think then he would not have been able to win series against Australia. If we would not have won the series, then Dada would not have been there.”
"It's like God sent Sourav Ganguly for me, telling 'hold this kid's hand.' He held my hand and I held God's hand. And I kept doing my work. That is how I made my name and Sourav Ganguly also won a big series, due to which he got an extension in captaincy," Harbhajan said.
{{/usCountry}}"It's like God sent Sourav Ganguly for me, telling 'hold this kid's hand.' He held my hand and I held God's hand. And I kept doing my work. That is how I made my name and Sourav Ganguly also won a big series, due to which he got an extension in captaincy," Harbhajan said.
{{/usCountry}}The 41-year-old said that while he was thankful to Ganguly for backing him, Harbhajan would have never had the kind of career he ended up enjoying had he not worked hard himself.
"Yes, he supported me, there is no doubt about that. I am always thankful for that. But side by side it's your performance that makes your career special. Captain can give you one opportunity, that Sourav Ganguly gave me at the right time. It was difficult period for me. After that it's on the person on how he performs," Harbhajan said.