Hours before leaving for Pakistan in what could be the most crucial cricket tour of his career after the first one to Australia over 14 years ago, Sourav Ganguly showed no signs of the pressure he must be under.
If thoughts of being left out of the playing XI of a team he led to a historic first Test and ODI series win across the border close to two years back and the consequence of that on his career were crossing his mind, Ganguly didn't show it.
No stranger to pressure situations under which many would wilt, Ganguly first let his bat do the talking with an 88 in Friday's Ranji Trophy match and then made it clear he was ready for the challenges ahead. He leaves for Lahore via New Delhi on Saturday.
"My performance over the last 10 years and my belief in my abilities give me the mental strength to cope with pressure," said Ganguly, who is a firm believer in God too. Asked whether the huge media attention on everything he has done in recent months makes him feel awkward, he said: "It doesn't mean pressure. I do my job, concentrate on cricket."
Refusing to admit that this would be the most challenging series in his illustrious and eventful career, Ganguly reiterated that he was looking for inspiration from his deeds. "I have done well over the past five-six months in whatever opportunity I have got, be it in domestic cricket or in Tests. With a little bit of luck, I can keep doing that. I still have some cricket left in me."
{{/usCountry}}Refusing to admit that this would be the most challenging series in his illustrious and eventful career, Ganguly reiterated that he was looking for inspiration from his deeds. "I have done well over the past five-six months in whatever opportunity I have got, be it in domestic cricket or in Tests. With a little bit of luck, I can keep doing that. I still have some cricket left in me."
{{/usCountry}}The former skipper avoided commenting on how he was looking at the prospect of being asked to open, but did say that things have changed since losing captaincy. "This has been a different phase, with less responsibility, but I don't think I am playing better because I am not the captain."
The man whose famous statement was that India would change the record of not winning in Pakistan on being reminded of history prior to departure in 2004, said not much should be read into Shoaib Akhtar's pace. “Let's wait till the end of the series.”