'I have served Indian cricket well'

Source: CNN-IBN     Date: December 13, 2007    

He was without doubt the Man of the Series in the battle against Pakistan. Sourav Ganguly completed a fairytale comeback to the Indian team with a staggering performance, and in this exclusive interview with CNN-IBN's Chief Cricket Correspondent Nishant Arora, Ganguly opens up on a range of issues.

Nishant Arora: There is a famous saying: If you have grit, glory will follow you. And this man is all about that. Sourav Ganguly has shown the world, that if you have the right attitude, success will come to you. Sourav, who is writing your script these days?

Sourav Ganguly:I don't know, mate. Just that I'm hitting the ball well and playing well, I think that's important.

Nishant Arora: It is so easy to say 'I'm hitting the ball well, I'm playing well.' But what is so good about this form? What do you fell is the main reason for this form?

Sourav Ganguly:It's very difficult to say one main reason. I think there are a whole lot of reasons for it. I've had a good year before this series in both forms of the game. The confidence was high. I got off to a good start in Delhi. So that also helped. And when I got a hundred in Bangalore, I was determined to make it into a double. So it's a process, it's not just one reason; I think it's right throughout the year.

Nishant arora: And getting a double hundred that was missing in your career. Must be a very special feeling?

Sourav Ganguly: It is, but I have batted lower down the order a lot of times. Rahul used to bat at three and Sachin at four, I used to bat at five, six. And I missed quite a few hundreds. We didn't have a wicketkeeper-batsman like Dhoni or Dinesh karthk, who would support the batsman who are batting at five and six. So me and Laxman have suffered a lot, in terms of getting hundreds. But it also helped that I got to bat at number four in this Test.

Nishant arora:500 runs in this series and 1000 runs in a calendar year, how satisfied are you as a batsman because nobody expected Sourav Ganguly will emerge from here?

Sourav Ganguly: You don't expect in sport. You have just got to keep trying. I'm a firm believer in sport, that it just takes one afternoon to be successful. And I have believed that for a long time. I may be in good form a day before. And next day could be yours. I have always looked at it that way and it is fantastic to get runs in this Test match because a lot of our key players were missing like Sachin and Dhoni. Also Zaheer, RP and Sreesanth, probably the beat of our team was injured. An important Test match, we were one up in the series and getting 300 runs is satisfying.

Nishant Arora: You said one afternoon away from glory, but it's been many afternoons like that. Since South Africa when you made your comeback in this side, one thing which is quite visible is that every time you walk in, you want to give a statement of intent, a statement to the world that 'I'm here. I belong here.'

Sourav Ganguly:No, I have never thought it that way. I was asked this question even after my first Test match when I got a hundred at Lord's, that 'you've proved people wrong.' I've never tried that. Every time I've walked out to bat for India I have tried to prove to myself whether I was still good enough at this level, whether it's One-Day cricket or Test cricket.

11-12 years in international cricket, it's a pretty long time, and it's more than 400 games for India. So, I have never tried to do that, neither will I ever do that in the future. I'll stick to my game, and every time I walk out to bat, I'll think and try and motivate myself that whether I'm good enough to put up a good performance today.

Nishant Arora: But how crucial had it become for you to prove yourself? Like you said, every time you go in you want to prove yourself. So how crucial was it when you went to South Africa, people said, 'keep your story ready that Sourav is going to announce his retirement very soon.'

Sourav Ganguly:People can say whatever they want. It doesn't matter in life; it doesn't matter for anyone, whether it's me, you or somebody in Mumbai. It's what you think, it's what you think about your ability, and I'm a firm believer that if you want to get your place back in the international team, you have to get runs overseas. And I think that's the key for any batsman to establish himself, and if you look at the records of all the established players in Indian cricket or the current regime, whether it's Sachin, Rahul, myself, Laxman, Sehwag, whoever. They've all started their careers overseas and have been successful overseas.

Nishant Arora: But tell us a about those eight months. I was reading somewhere and it said; the manner in which you were dropped was not right. So, were you hurt? Were you hurt in the way things were done?

Sourav Ganguly: See, I don't want to go back into the manner in which I was dropped. But I think a lot has been said about it. Obviously I was, because I still felt I had a lot of cricket left in me, and I'm happy that I've scored runs.

Nishant Arora: Tell us what you did during those eight months you were out of the Indian outfit. What did Sourav Ganguly do to get this best year out of him?

Sourav Ganguly:Nothing different, just went and trained hard. Did a few adjustments in the technique. Went and played domestic cricket, enjoyed with the Bengal boys really, to be honest. I was away from the hustle and bustle of international cricket, running around, hotels, travel, the pressure. But probably came back fresh.

Nishant Arora: And how tough was it to motivate yourself. It's not easy; you're living a first-class life with the Indian cricket team, followed and cheered everywhere.

Sourav Ganguly:No. My life doesn't change whether I play for India or I don't. I was still followed when I was out of the team. And I'm still followed now. My way of living has never changed. I've said even before that even if I wouldn't have picked up a cricket bat, my lifestyle wouldn't have changed. So that obviously takes the pressure away from me, and I can focus on my game.

Nishant Arora: Coming on to the tough part, Australia. Last time, your theme was to change the trend. And you almost did that. But what do you have to do as a team to go that one step ahead?

Sourav Ganguly:Well, we did pretty well in Australia last time. I'm sure we can do it again. We have got the batting line-up to do it. Our fast bowling department is better than probably what it was the last time. We had Zaheer who got injured in the beginning of the tour, Irfan was new, Ajit stood up and did very well in that series.

We are going this time with a better fast bowling attack. We've had successes consistently overseas after that. We were successful in Australia, in Pakistan, in the West Indies, in England. And we won series everywhere. So, our performances in overseas series have improved by leaps and bounds. But our success in Australia will depend on how well the top six bat.

Nishant Arora: Do you think that batting again will be the key? You will have to get runs and have to get it big.

Sourav Ganguly: Of course. You have to put runs up on the board, at least 400 runs every time you bat in the first innings. You have to put it up on the board.

Nishant Arora: It will also be a very special year in the way that, if you look at the top eight run getters for India, four names which emerge from it are VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. When you see those things, do you feel lucky to play with great players like these?

Sourav Ganguly: Of course. I think we four have served Indian cricket well. They are great names. They've been successful all round the world. Anil Kumble is one more of them. Harbhajan Singh is another. Unfortunately, Sehwag is not a part of the batting unit yet, but I'm sure his time will come. And from that point of view, it's been fantastic to played with all these boys.

Nishant Arora: So when a lot of people say that somewhere it has to end and it will end. Do you get emotional when because you have had a lot of success with these boys.

Sourav Ganguly:I'm sure it will end. Evrerything in life has to end. But I think we still have some more time to go.

Nishant Arora: But do you get emotional at times and feel lucky that you are part of this group?

Sourav Ganguly:Of course yes. I think we four, in fact, we five, and Harbhajan included, six - we have been a part of India's most successful time in cricket. And I hope it carries on.

Nishant Arora: And when you look at Australia versus India, one team which has constantly challenged Australia is India. You cannot say that for any other team in the world. Can you tell us what is the reason behind this? Why a team like India challenges Australia, and has often dominated them too?

Sourav Ganguly:It's just the ability of the team, ability of players, to be able to stand up and perform against Australia. I'm sure we know what to expect this time, and I hope we can stand up.

Nishant Arora: Do you think we have the bowling to do that this time?

Sourav Ganguly:I think so. Yes.

Nishant Arora: What about Anil Kumble. For the first time in a long time, we have a bowling captain. You have captained Kumble for a long time. How do you see him as a captain, because no one can tell about Indian captaincy better than Sourav Ganguly - India's most successful captain.

Sourav Ganguly:He's done fantastically. You know, the first team meeting under him in Delhi summed up everything. I'm not going to say what was said and what was discussed in that meeting. But there were certain issues which were addressed and from that point I knew that the team is going to play well.

But the best part about this is that he has become a bit less aggressive. He was a bit more aggressive just as a player and a bowler. Probably his mind takes a lot more things nowadays. But it's good. He's been a legend in Indian cricket. Even legend is an understatement. I hope he can finish his career as a captain, and a captain of a successful team.

Nishant Arora: What is so special about him. One thing which you really like about his personality?

Sourav Ganguly:He comes at you every time, whether it's 9.30 in the morning or 5.30 in the evening.

Nishant Arora: And now, Sourav, you are on the verge of 100 Test matches. Must be a great feeling for you.

Sourav Ganguly:Yes it is. It is a great feeling. I think it's a huge milestone. Not many in world cricket have played 100 Test matches and 300 One-Day games at a time. So it will be good.

Nishant Arora: Are you going to celebrate it with another hundred in Melbourne?

Sourav Ganguly: I hope so. It will be fantastic.

Nishant Arora: Thank you so much for talking to us and we hope your wishes come true and India does very well in Australia.

Sourav Ganguly:Thanks a lot.