India's finest captain ever!

Probably the most charismatic captains ever! Probably the most popular Indian cricketer of the last decade(No one other than Sachin ever comes in the league of his popularity.In fact he was a demi god in West Bengal)! Probably India's best captain ever! Certainly the most gritty sportsman India has ever produced.

Saurav Chandidas Ganguly announced that the series against Australia is going to be his final series in international cricket.The retirement of Dada , his affectionately called by his colleagues and fans marks the beginning of the end of an era which will culminate(hopefully thats still some distance away) with the retirement of all of the three pillars of Indian batting of the last decade.

1995-2000
Making his ODI debut in 1991 in Australia,he was described too arrogant and a brat with the worst of attitudes and dropped.5 years of churning out runs in the domestic circuit,he was finally selected for the test team to the tour of England in the summer of 1996.And a dream debut it was! On June 21 In his first test at Lord's, he scored an imperious century and followed it up with another century in the very next Test at Trent Bridge, on July 4.Overnight he became a superstar and Kolkatta finally got their GOD.
That began a journey during which he achieved amazing heights with the bat and sometimes with the ball too.Some of his stellar performances in the early part of his career was the 124 against Pakistan in Dhaka to chase 317(the highest chase during that time) and the majestic 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton in 1999.And who can forget those amazing run of his in Toronto.Ball or bat he was simply outstanding.It was also during this time that the perhaps the greatest ODI opening partnership of all time of Sachin and Saurav was formed(October 1996 against SA) which went on to break all sort of records.

Known for his gift of timing,Rahul Dravid once appropriately said "on the offside first its god,then its Saurav".When in full flow he was a delight to watch.And his fighting spirit was established even during the early days of his career.And it was this leadership quality that made him a possible candidate for captaincy within 5 years of international cricket and his years of captaincy will always be remembered as a Golden One.
(Contd)