His impact outside offstump!

"On the off side, first there is God and then there is Ganguly", said Rahul Dravid. I am not quoting it here to begin my  review like a school essay, but to begin with the best thing anyone has ever said about Sourav Ganguly, the prince of  Calcutta. That is the thing he should be the first known for - his elegant batting. Over 7000 test runs and over 11000 ODI  runs is a phenomenal achievement. But, Ganguly's legacy is much more than that.

There are only two kinds of cricket fans - Dada lovers and Dada haters. But when it comes to his retirement, people are of  only one kind - the saddened ones. He would let the ball through his legs for a boundary and would also take a stunning  backward running catch. He would look silly against every short ball and would also come back to score a mesmerizing century;  He made me write '5 good reasons to drop Ganguly' in one of my earliest review and now he makes me write that he will be  missed. Such is his personality. He is easily the most indeterministic and pulsating personality to have played for India.

There are many things one could speak of Ganguly - his batting, his leadership abilities, his contributions to Indian  Cricket, etc. But what stands apart in Ganguly is his incredible inability to flinch. Right from the fast bowlers to the  media, everyone has kept bowling bouncers at him; and everytime they threw him away, he only came back to make stronger  statements, not just at the press conferences but with also his performance. 

What stands apart in Ganguly is his incredible inability to flinch

Pre-Ganguly era of Indian cricketers were tacticians, but were known to be fragile. Ganguly showed the Indian team how to  play the sport with fire. India has had equally passionate, popular and angry men like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. But no  one could rub off their attitude on to the other players as Ganguly did. When he was ecstatic, the entire team was ecstatic.  When he was down in mood, again, the entire team was down. His influence was immense. In a sense, he was a true leader. 

It was nice to see Ganguly finish on a winning note. It was a terrific and great gesture when Dhoni asked Ganguly to captain  the side for some 5 overs in the final test. And to see Sourav, wearing coolers and dictating the field, commanding was such  a sight. A sight that would make every Sourav fan nostalgic and delighted. That final few moments will remain in my heart  forever. On records, he is the best captain for India so far and would remain that way, for his impact is a lot more than  just record wins. He created that spark, that infectious 'attitude' which intimidated even the strongest of oppositions. He  will be remembered for his perosnality, he will be remember for being 'Dada'.