The importance of being Sourav Ganguly
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
AFP
R Kaushik, while hailing Ganguly's innings, remembers the contribution of Greg Chappell. Read his piece in the Deccan Herald.
In some distant corner, one man will feel truly vindicated. The much-maligned Greg Chappell can allow himself a quiet chuckle or three, because every international run flowing off Gangulys willow is a victory of sorts for the former Indian coach.
Sandeep Dwivedi, of the Indian Express, spoke to Bengal’s Ranji Trophy trainer Chinmoy Roy who worked with Sourav Ganguly before the Pakistan series.
“He came to me a week before the Pakistan series and told me to restart the same regime that we did when he was out of the team. He said that he had a point to prove. I could see the same intensity in his eyes that he showed when he wanted to make a comeback. He didn’t want people questioning his fitness or fielding,” recalls Roy.
With the Bengal Ranji team too training at the Eden, Ganguly became Roy’s star pupil once again. “Half-an-hour of running around the field, ten sprints of 100 m, running through the ladder and several other drills on field were part of daily routine. This was followed by gym work, where the focus was on the abdomen and back,” he says.
Lokendra Pratap Sahi, of the Telegraph, spoke to Ganguly at the end of the first day.
On his unbeaten 125
Because of the conditions, it’s one of the better ones... As the wicket here is different from the Eden, I suppose this hundred has been technically better... The Eden one will, of course, be very special — but for different reasons (first in his hometown)... This is going to be special as, at one stage, we were four down for next to nothing. That too in a Test with the series still undecided.
On Yuvraj Singh’s hundred
Fantastic... He wasn’t getting opportunities and, when he did, made the most... It’s not for me to comment on matters of selection, but I do feel Yuvraj should be a regular in the Test XI.
Sriram Veera is a former staff writer at ESPNcricinfo