The Prince comes calling

Some old memories would have come gushing back for Ganguly. The India-Pakistan rivalry, it’s a very special one.

Former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly with Virat Kohli during the practice session in Kolkata on Friday. Photo: K.R. Deepak

In his playing days, the crowds at the Eden Gardens would chant his name. After all, he was the ‘Prince’ of Kolkata.

Sourav Ganguly’s relationship with the fans here was a symbiotic one. The elegant left-hander of grace and timing sent the ball screaming to the fence, finding gaps with laser-guided precision. And the audience would roar.

Then with his aggressive brand of captaincy, the fiery Ganguly would often lead the Indian team to epoch-making wins.

Different role

Now, the 43-year Ganguly is in a different role as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

He seems to be enjoying every bit of the new challenge. Apart from supervising arrangements for the Big Game, he also found time to catch up with both teams.

Ganguly walked down to the arena in the evening as the Indian and Pakistan teams practised. He would surely have passed on a thing or two about coping with pressure to the Indian team.

Among the Indians were some of his former teammates such as Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra.

Delighted

They were delighted to interact with their old skipper. Ganguly had a chat with Team Director, Ravi Shastri too, one of his earliest teammates.

Then he walked up to the area where the Pakistanis were honing their skills. Waiting for him was his old adversary, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis.

Some old memories would have come gushing back for Ganguly. The India-Pakistan rivalry, it’s a very special one.