We will miss you, Dada!!

After the Nagpur test, Sourav Ganguly, undoubtedly one of the legends of modern cricket will no more amaze us with those scintillating drives and cuts along the off side. He has never scored runs as fast as Sehwag, never been technically perfect like Dravid, and never did as many miracles as Sachin did. But he still could get in to our hearts so easily, we all rejoiced when he danced down the track and let the ball fly over the rope in an elegant manner. But just like all the Ganguly fans love him, many hate him as well.. for all those mistakes that he made in the field, the slow pace at which he scored sometimes and many other reasons. Its so easy to hate someone.. isn't it?

But let me ask you, can anyone simply forget all those that Sourav has done for Indian cricket?? Not only as a batsman, but as an agressive and positive captain also.. Sourav was the first Indian player to show a little bit of agression. Remember those times when Indian players rarely looked into the opponents' eyes and hardly gave any reply for all those sledging. But now, things have changed. And it all started with Sourav. When he took his shirt off from the Lords balcony, he was announcing that we will not bow our heads just like that. We're gonna reply in the same way.. and I wonder why everyone was making a big fuss about it. Hardly anyone said a word when andrew Flintoff took his shirt off after defeating India, that too, on the field. I will rate Lords incident as one of the greatest moments of Sourav's cricketing life.

Sourav is arguably the best captain that India has ever seen. Don't forget the fact that he was the captain when some senior players had to depart, accused of match fixing. That was too deep a wound for the people of India who love cricket more than anything else. He was the man who took Indian cricket out of that dark cave. He was a captain who supported the young players upto a large extent. Remember those days when Sehwag remained in the team even after getting out cheaply in the same fashion almost in every game. Sourav always looked towards the future.

I admit the fact that Sachin is a better batsman than Sourav. Sachin is the best in the whole world, may be the all time best also. If Sourav is 'Maharaja' , Sachin is God. But the reason why I admire Sourav is his attitude. Sourav was first selected to the oneday squad four years before his test debut at Lords. He played just a single game. In spite of his consistent performance in domestic cricket, he was thrown out and he didn't get a chance in the next four years. But he never gave up. And now, look at the way in which he came back after being written off by all.

The man who has scored maximum number of runs since his comeback couldn't get a place in the squad for Irani trophy. If it was about the fielding and fitness, Kumble,Laxman and Dravid are no better. Can any of you tell sincerely that he doesn't deserve a place in the Indian test squad looking at the way he is playing? If scoring runs when your team needs it isn't the criteria, what else could it be?? If the reason was the poor performance in the series against Sri Lanka, who all scored then? Why Sourav is being the scape goat always??

But Sourav, as always he is, never bows his head in front of anyone. He is going to depart, in a way that we will never forget, with his head held upright, letting his bat give all the reply.

"You'll never retire from our hearts, Dada !!"