Sourav Ganguly said that he was desperate to become India coach when he got into administration after retiring.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly said that one should not thing about the outcome while doing something, taking the example of him becoming the Indian captain and the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal later. “You should do what you can and not thinking about the outcome. You never know where life goes, you never know where life will take you. I went to Australia in 1999, I wasn’t even the vice-captain. Sachin (Tendulkar) was the captain and in three months I became the captain of India,” he said at the India Today Conclave East 2017.
“When I got into administration, I was desperate to be the coach of the national side,” said the former Indian captain, “(Jagmohan) Dalmiya called me and said ‘why you don’t you try for six months’. He passed away and none was around, so I became the CAB president. People take 20 years to become president. You have to live for the day.”
Sourav Ganguly also spoke about his retirement from cricket. He had raised a few eyebrows when he called it a day as he was enjoying a resurgence of sorts in form. He was a surprise inclusion into the squad that travelled to Australia for a four-Test series but he was enjoying a good run of form in domestic cricket in the run up to that series. “As I announced retirement in 2008, Sachin came at lunch and asked me ‘why did you take such a decision?’ I said because I don’t want to play any more. He then said ‘this is the best time to see you play in such flow. Last three years had been your best’.”
Ganguly’s time as a regular in the Indian team started to come to an end with his falling out with Greg Chappell that coincided a bad patch of form for him in the years after he led India to the 2003 World Cup final. “Not many captains in the world would go from not being captain to not even being in the side. You look at Dhoni. He is not the captain of the team but look at the way Kohli looks after him and they go about their job,” said Ganguly, “I retired because at some point you’ve had enough. The reason is not because you have had enough of playing the sport but because you’ve had enough of getting selected all the time. I remember those days and think individual sports is a lot better when you are not dependent on team.”