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When Sourav Ganguly took his shirt off at Lord’s, VVS Laxman tried to pull it down
Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar shared a few anecdotes during the launch of the former Indian cricket team captain’s book ‘A Century is not Enough’ in Mumbai.
The image of Sourav Ganguly taking off his shirt and waving it from the balcony of Lord’s following India’s memorable victory in the NatWest Trophy final against England in 2002 has remained etched in the memories of fans to date. However, not many people know how Ganguly’s teammates had reacted when the former India captain took off his shirt.
Ganguly has now revealed reactions of his teammates from that memorable day. Speaking during the launch of his autobiography ‘A Century is not Enough’ at Taj Lands End in Mumbai on Wednesday, Ganguly said that while he was trying to take his shirt off, VVS Laxman was trying his best to prevent it. Harbhajan Singh, on the other hand, stood confused.
“When I was trying to take off my shirt, VVS started pulling it down. It became a kind of tussle between us. And Harbhajan, who was standing behind, asked what should he do? I told him to do nothing. Tu chup baith (you remain still) were my words,” Ganguly said.
WHEN SACHIN TAPED DADA’S BAT
Ganguly, who was joined by Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma on stage, also shared an anecdote from his debut at Lord’s in 1996 Test where the master blaster ended up taping the handle of his bat. Ganguly had famously scored a hundred in that match.
“I was batting at 110, I think. I was very tired. I had batted really well and was very happy. But, the handle of my bat had loosened and needed to be fixed. So, I sat on a chair with tea and started taping the handle of my bat. At that point of time, Tendulkar, who had already played 40 Tests by then, came to me and said, let me do it. You take rest and enjoy your tea. It was a great gesture from Tendulkar to help a ‘youngster’.”
In reply, Tendulkar first pulled the leg of his former teammate for calling himself ‘youngster’ before talking about their long-lasting bond. “Sourav is older than me (laughing, to which Ganguly answered- yes, but only six months older). I had a good bond with Sourav even before he played for India. We had met each other in age group cricket and shared a dressing room during the tour of 1992 in Australia.
“When he made a comeback, I was very happy for him and I was really happy to help him. That is what a teammate is supposed to do. I would have done the same thing for any ‘youngster’.”
