The Darkest Days of Life - Shattered

Mornings are a reflection of one’s state of mind. And when the ego is bruised, self confidence is shattered, mind is filled with remorse and haplessness, future too bleak and fearful; every morning seems to be an ordeal in which one wakes up into, with sleep seeming so distant yet so cherished. The gloom and darkness all around suddenly seems to engulf one, draining out every bit of adrenalin from the veins. It seems too inevitable to slip into the vast emptiness, and stare at the ceiling endlessly.

Sourav was passing through such a state of mind, after the Australia tour of 1992. It was supposed to have been ‘the moment’ of his life. His first Indian cap was supposed to be recognition of his potential and hard work. Sachin had done it. So had Kumble and Kambli, his fellow mates from the Kailash Ghatani U-19 team. But, what did he get? Slander and sarcasms, false allegations which inspite of his best efforts, he was unable to refute. Even before he could get a chance to prove himself, he was stigmatised and discarded forever. The chasm before him seemed to colossal to cross, and his dreams of becoming a Indian cricketer seemed to fade out beyond those high walls!

It seemed too tempting for him to slip into the vast abyss of hopelessness. But, the rebel within could not be reconciled with. He was vehemently protesting and was trying too hard to turn things the other way round. Something within him was making him too desperate to break the wall in his way and prove the whole world wrong!

The world is always too cruel to the vanquished. It derives sadistic pleasure, by feeding on the carcass of the dead. Sourav was facing this world every moment. Wherever he went to play, a group of people would flock together to hurl abuses at him. Then one day he lost his patience. It was the Eastbengal vs Mohanbagan match at the Amar Ghosh Tournament. A section of the crowd was constantly abusing Sourav. The 20 year old lost his composure. He hit back at the spectators by making improper gestures. That added fuel to the fire. The next day, the incident was made the headlines in every local newspaper. Everyone said that the younger son of Chandi Ganguli is just an arrogant waste. He has brought bad name to Bengal Cricket.

Another incident worth mentioning was the Ranji Trophy semi-final match against Haryana. Haryana had scored given a steep target to Bengal. Bengal was in pressure, after losing some quick wickets. Sourav was batting, with a determination and desperation to prove his point. Suddenly, there was a miss and a strong appeal from the Haryana players. Umpire declared him out. Sourav’s desperation got the better of him. He vehemently protested against the decision. This provoked the spectators and within a moment, the situation at Eden Gardens turned extremely unpleasant. An infuriated Kapil Dev sarcastically signalled Sourav to bat again, and said, “Bat karr..dekhta hoon kitna bada player bann gaya hain tu”. The controversy was savoured well by the media and junta at large! It made big news in all the Newspapers.

During this bad phase in Sourav’s life, Arun Lal stood by his side. One day he asked Sourav, “Maharaj, why are you behaving like this? A cricketer should always be calm and composed in every situation. Have you forgotten that?” Sourav looked up, in silence. His eyes were desperately seeking help.

An experienced Arun Lal, comforted Sourav, “Have faith in yourself. You are too young, with the whole life ahead of you. Don’t rush and be desperate. Wait for the right time, opportunity will surely come. And when it does, grab it with both hands and prove your point. But, you need to prepare yourself for that day. I believe you shall be a great cricketer one day. I believe in your potential”.

Sourav's eyes lit up. He perhaps desperately wanted to know only this .. that someone still believes in him.

Explosive News from the KKR Camp

Even with the worst performance in the history of Indian Premier League, the KKR camp is never failing to gather the media bytes (for all wrong reasons, though).

Latest in the series of incessant controversies (thanks to Bookha Naan and Phoren Babas), Ajay Jadeja has revealed a sensational news from the KKR camp in a private news channel. Jadeja said that the foreign coaching staff members of the KKR team are ill treating the Indian cricketers. It was also alleged that racist comments were being hurled at an Indian cricketer. The cricketer was asked to come out of the field, by a coaching staff member. When the cricketer questioned him, the coaching staff supposedly replied, “You Indian ... do what I say.”

Jadeja stated with conviction that there was a divide in the KKR team and Indian players are not being treated well. Speculations are being made that Jadeja had got this news from one of the Delhi based cricketer currently playing in the KKR team. Among the cricketers from Delhi are Ishant Sharma, Yaspal Singh and Akash Chopra.

What started with Sourav’s removal from KKR captaincy, has resulted in a complete polarisation in the KKR camp between the foreign players (excluding Masrafe Murtaza) and the Indian players, with the Indians at a receiving end.

Wonder what Shahrukh is thinking ...... “Picture abhi baaki hain mere Dost!. Galat sahi kuch nahin hota...News mein bane rehna chahiye baas!”

Bravo K-K-King K-K-Khan! You deserve a standing ovation!

Disclaimer: Article based on the news published in Ananda Bazaar Patrika on 12th May

Destiny's Step Child - Controversies

Sourav has always been destiny’s step child. As his legendary skills, his bad luck has also been way apart from the rest. The series of malicious propaganda and controversies which a 19 year old budding talent had to endure was never heard in Indian cricket before, and shall possibly be never heard again.

In the words of Sourav, “The controversies which arose during my Australia tour had left me completely shattered. It was told that I had reminded the team management that my nickname is Maharaj, and that I won’t bring water and towel to the field (as a 12th man), since such work is done by Ramu servant at my home. I belong to a good family, and it was extremely difficult for me to withstand such things..”
Some of the major controversies which had hit headlines during that time were:
1. Sourav’s attitude was like that of a Maharaj. He doesn’t want to practice, nor was he interested in carrying his own Kits Bag.
2. One day, when Sourav was looking for someone to carry his Kits Bag, a frustrated Kapil Dev carried his bag to the team bus
3. He refused to bring water and towel to the field as a 12th Man.

These rumours spread like wild fire. They were reported in all leading newspapers across India, including Kolkata. Sourav did not find any support from anywhere, not even in his home state. People and media believed the propaganda, not contesting or disputing for a moment, that it was the same Sourav who toured England with Kailash Ghatani, and no one complained of his attitude before. No one suggested that all these were perhaps master minded by one of the most crooked minds Indian cricket, who had put the cricket to shame through his nexus with Bookies and betting – Mohammed Azharuddin.

A 19 year old, who had just started his international career with big dreams and promise, was thrown out, denied of a fair chance, humiliated and maligned. At 19 years of age, when you and me, was perhaps in the first year of our college life, another promising teenager was subjected to acute stress and humiliation, malign and slander from all quarters, and even his home crowd.

There is an old saying in Russian that one has to pass through fire to become steel. The fire of humiliation, and agony which had burnt Sourav for four years, from 1992-96, is what made him what he is – A phoenix who can rise from ashes, again and again and again!

1992 Australia Tour

The Indian Squad was declared for the Australian Tour of 1991-92. The players named were, Md.Azharuddin (C), Ravi Shastri, Kapil Dev, K.Srikanth, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sachin Tendulkar, Manoj Prabhakar, Kiran More (W), Venkatpati Raju, Sourav Ganguly, Javagal Srinath, Subrata Banerji, Narendra Hirwani, and Chandrakanth Pandit.

The first opportunity to play came very soon, in the India vs Australia Board XI match. Board XI batted first. In 50 overs they amassed 254 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. In reply, India could score only 225 runs at the loss of 7 wickets. Jeoff Marsh hit a century in that match. Dilip Vengsarkar was the highest scorer for India with an unbeaten knock of 58 runs. Sourav couldn’t perform in that match. He got out at 2 runs only.

Sourav didn’t get a chance in the playing eleven for the subsequent match against West Australia and the 1st Test at Brisbane. India lost the first Test at Brisbane. Before the 2nd Test Match, India played a 4 days cricket match against Queensland. Sourav got a chance again in that match. India batted first and scored 450 runs at the loss of 9 wickets. Sourav batted 5th down and scored 29 runs, before getting run out. He didn’t get an opportunity to bat in the second innings. That was the last match Sourav Ganguly played in that Australian tour. He was dropped from the Indian Team soon after returning to India.

A young cricketer, like him was rejected without giving him a fair chance to prove himself. And worst, his stay was marred by false allegations and controversies which left a deep scar in the mind and heart of a 19 year old.