Sourav Ganguly believes that his greatest legacy as a captain is that he left behind a team that believed that it could win in any country around the world. Ganguly’s time as captain of the Indian team in the early 2000s is noted for India shedding its image as a team that could not perform outside the country.
“My biggest legacy is that we left a unit that believed it could win away,” said Ganguly in an online video lecture for Unacademy.
“We won in England in 2007 when I was a player and (Rahul) Dravid was captain. The leader was different but the team believed in England that we could beat them. No other side had beaten England in England apart from Australia in 25 years.”
India won the second Test at Trent Bridge and went on to seal a 1-0 series win in the three-match series. Ganguly however said that he was elated to watch the Indian team under M.S. Dhoni, which consisted of a number of players he played with, lift the 2011 World Cup.
“For me the biggest day was when India won the World Cup in 2011. The great MS Dhoni… that shot, that six off the last ball will remain in Indian cricket history forever and what a moment it was,” said the current Board of Control for Cricket in India President.
“I remember I was at the Wankhede Stadium that night and I came down from the commentary box to watch Dhoni and the team go around the ground.
“In 2003 the team which I was the captain lost the final to Australia so I was so happy to see Dhoni have the opportunity to win that trophy.
“That team had seven or eight players who started their careers under me. The likes of (Virender) Sehwag, Dhoni himself, Yuvraj (Singh), Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra. So I think that’s a legacy which I was extremely happy to leave behind as a captain. And that was my biggest legacy that I left aside which had the ability to win at home and away from home.”
