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‘He wouldn’t have become what he has now’: Arun Lal remembers incident that propelled Sourav Ganguly for success
Ganguly made his debut for India in 1992 in an ODI match but had to wait for four years to make it back into the team. He went on to score a ton in his debut Test match at Lord’s in 1996 and announced his arrival into the team. Arun Lal said that the time away from the team allowed Ganguly to become a mature cricketer.
Sourav Ganguly revolutionised Indian cricket team in the early 2000s as captain. Under his leadership, the Indian team grew from strength to strength and also developed a competitive attitude. But while many remember Sourav Ganguly for his captaincy, many forget that the left-hander was also an extremely talented batsman. Former India cricketer Arun Lal, in a recent interview, recalled the moment when he saw a 16-17 year-old Ganguly hitting sixes with ease in a club match.
“I have always been a fan of Sourav. Like Tendulkar, Sourav was special. I remember watching Sourav play an exhibition match at CCFC in Kolkata. This young kid hit about 6-7 sixes in that exhibition game,” the cricketer-turned-commentator told Sportskeeda in an interview.
“He was hitting them out of the club, onto to the tramlines and with ease. He was all of 16-17 years old. So like Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly was born to play cricket. He had an extremely unbelievable amount of talent,” Arun Lal added.
“Sourav stood out, it was apparent that he is very different. I was always sure that there will be no stopping this young man, whatever happens. And like any other time, I have been a firm believer in understanding the moment,” he further said.
TOPICS| England vs West Indies MS Dhoni Sourav Ganguly
Ganguly made his debut for India in 1992 in an ODI match but had to wait for four years to make it back into the team. He went on to score a ton in his debut Test match at Lord’s in 1996 and announced his arrival into the team. Arun Lal said that the time away from the team allowed Ganguly to become a mature cricketer.
“Sourav was gutted, devastated but when you look back and even at that time I said that if he wasn’t dropped from Indian cricket at that stage, he wouldn’t have become what he has now.
“Because a couple of years out of the team gave him time to mature, to understand and recollect himself and come back strong. And so you have Sourav Ganguly the captain and Sourav Ganguly now heading the BCCI,” Arun Lal said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator further added that there is Ganguly, who is currently heading the BCCI as President, is going to leave another mark in the world of cricket.
“And I do believe that we haven’t seen the best of him yet. The best years are ahead of him,” Arun Lal said.
