When Dada Blessed the BLOG

If I had a 100 reasons to Love him before meeting him, he just gave me a 1000 more to love him even stronger

Unfoldinf the Story of What Dada said

The Never Ending Love for Dada - The Story of How I Met Him

Exclusive Pics and Full Episodes : Sourav Ganguly's DADAGIRI Season 6 - 2016

Check out Exclusive Pics and Full Episodes from Dadagiri Season 6 Hosted By Sourav Ganguly

Exclusive Pics/Videos : Sourav Ganguly in US for Cricket All Stars T20 - November 2015

An in depth timeline of #Dada's stay in the US for #cricketallstars with Exclusive Pictures and Videos

Exclusive Pics : Sourav Ganguly - The Commentator/Analyst - All Series Archive

Presenting you Exclusive Pics from Every Series that Dada was a Part of

Wednesday 29 May 2013

What Sourav Ganguly Spoke at the Press Conference Re: Match Fixing - May 24, 2000

After MS Dhoni's Muted Preeser Yesterday re: Fixing, Many wanted to know what DADA Spoke re: it in his Presser way back in 2000. Here it is.





CALCUTTA, May 24 (UNI) — Indian captain Saurav Ganguly has exuded confidence that India will put up a superlative performance in the coming Asia Cup Cricket Championship in Dhaka from May 28.

Saurav, who returned here last night after attending the selection committee meeting at Pune, said: “If all of us can play to our potential, we will return victorious from Dhaka.” Saurav joined the Pune meeting straight from England after his stint at the county cricket.

“The players chosen for the Asia Cup are the best in the country at the moment, and so the Asia Cup should not be a difficult proposition for us,” Saurav said.

Asked whether current Indian bowling strength would be enough to tackle top teams like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Indian skipper said “we have to do with whatever is available to us. This is the best Indian side at the moment.”

Saurav felt “the wicket at Dhaka is a batting one and our batting line-up is quite good. In the match between Asia eleven and Rest of the World eleven held in Dhaka during last April, the score was three hundred plus. If the wicket remains the same, much would depend on batting, which would decide the fate of the match in Asia Cup. And in this respect, we are not behind Pakistan or Sri Lanka,” Saurav opined.

Saurav said he did not subscribe to the view that the Indian team would be in distress if he or Sachin did not get runs. He said, “we have a very strong batting line-up with Rahul Dravid, Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja. All of them were very experienced and quite capable of tackling difficult situations.”

“I am quite hopeful that our batting will click in Dhaka,” the stylish southpaw added.

Regarding the ongoing betting and match fixing controversy, Saurav said it would not affect Indian team’s performance in the Asia Cup. Saurav said “I don’t know about other teams, but our players won’t get affected by the unsubstantiated allegations.”

“Whatever any person may say, I personally feel that the most important thing is to be honest to your ownself. If you are honest to your own conscience, no allegation would be able to touch you. In the field we should only concentrate on cricket,” he said.

Saurav admitted that there could be allegations of match fixing if a player missed a vital catch or got run out at the crucial moment and said, “we can’t help it. The only way to tackle this is by performing one’s duties and not listening to allegations.” Until the allegations are proved, one can’t come to any conclusion. We cannot call anybody guilty unless the allegations are proved,” Saurav commented.

Regarding his stint at the county matches in England, Saurav said it would help him to mature further as a batsman. “The standard of county cricket in England is better than the first class matches in India. It is indeed difficult to adjust to the extreme cold there initially. I’m enjoying it now. Moreover, the presence of former Australian Test star and manager Bobby Simpson also helping me a lot. I would be more experienced and matured at the end of the season,” Saurav felt. 

Source : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2000/20000525/sports.html

Sunday 26 May 2013

BEST of Sourav Ganguly in ICC Champions Trophy - STATS + Pics + Videos

Champions Trophy 2013 will begin on Thursday, June 6, 2013 in England.Let us Look back at some of DADA's Best From the Champions Trophy so far.



ICC Knockout 2000 :

After the Match Fixing Saga in 2000, This was DADA's First Big test with the likes of Young Debutants like Zaheer Khan & Yuvraj Singh in the team.



ICC KnockOut - 1st preliminary quarter final : India vs Kenya 

ODI no. 1630 | 2000/01 season
Played at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi
3 October 2000 (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly Scored a Quickfire 66 vs Kenya & Also Took two Catches.

Pics :



STATS

Ganguly's two catches equaled the best performance by an Indian fieldsman in a match against Kenya. Anil Kumble (at Gwalior on 28-05-1998) and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (at Calcutta on 31-05-1998) also held two catches.

Videos



Result

India won by 8 Wickets.


ICC KnockOut - 1st quarter final : India vs Australia 


ODI no. 1633 | 2000/01 season
Played at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi (neutral venue)
7 October 2000 (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly Scored 24 Runs & Also Took 2 Catches + a Run Out.

Pics :



Videos
  
Watch Here : Sourav Ganguly 24 vs Australia - ICC Knockout Trophy 2000/01

Sourav 'Captain' Ganguly 2 Catches vs Australia - QF - ICC KnockOut Trophy, 2000/01

Highlights - India vs Australia - ICC Knockout  2000/01

                                                                        Result
                                         
                                          India won by 20 Runs

ICC KnockOut - 1st Semi Final: India vs South Africa

ODI no. 1638 | 2000/01 season
Played at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi (neutral venue)
13 October 2000 (50-over match) 

Sourav 'Captain' Ganguly Scored a Magnificent 141 & Led from the front. Also took a Catch.

Pics :





Match Report : 


The favourites ran into a breathtaking innings from Ganguly, who creamed an unbeaten 141 from 142 balls, his 14th hundred in one-day internationals. India were heading for 300 until he lost the strike in the last over, bowled by Donald, which yielded three wickets and just two runs. Ganguly had started temperately, but went airborne when left-arm spinner Boje came on at the halfway stage. Three of his six sixes came during Boje's two overs, which cost 26 runs and opened the floodgates for some rousing strokeplay. Ganguly had one lucky break, on 75, when he guided a Klusener no-ball to backward point. Under pressure to score quickly, South Africa lost their top four inside eight overs. Ganguly then continued his masterclass by dismissing Boucher, their top-scorer, for 60, but his exertions finally caught up with him: fielding at slip, he dropped Boje twice in two balls. Telemachus was later suspended for one game for barging into Dravid.

Man of the Match: S. C. Ganguly.

                                                   Videos
                   
 Watch Here : Sourav Ganguly Magnificent 141* vs SA - ICC Knockout 2000/01

Sourav 'Captain' Ganguly Takes a Catch to Dismiss Kallis - Semi Finals - ICC KnockOut, 2000/01

Highlights - India vs South Africa - ICC Knockout  2000/01


                                                                             Result
                                       
                                       India won by 95 Runs



ICC KnockOut - Final: India vs New Zealand


ODI no. 1639 | 2000/01 season
Played at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi (neutral venue)
15 October 2000 (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly again led from the front with a Magnificent 117 unfortunately ended up on the losing side.

Pics :





STATS

Saurav Ganguly scored his 15th ODI hundred in 149th match. Now only Sachin Tendulkar (25), Saeed Anwar (19) and Desmond Haynes (17) have scored more ODI hundreds than Ganguly.

Ganguly became the third Indian to score back to back hundreds. He had scored an unbeaten 141 against South Africa on October 13. Others to do so for India are Sachin Tendulkar who scored 143 and 134 against Australia at Sharjah on 22-04-1998 and 24-04-1998 and Rahul Dravid who scored an unbeaten 100 against Kenya at Bristol on 23-05-1999 and 145 against Sri Lanka at Taunton on 26-05-1999.

The hundred was Ganguly's fourth as skipper. He thus equals Mohammad Azharuddin's tally of hundreds as Indian skipper. Only Sachin Tendulkar has made more hundreds than Ganguly in this role for India - six in 73 matches.
Ganguly has now extended his tally of runs to 1210 in the year 2000 in just 23 matchesmost for any batsman.


                                                                             Videos

       Watch Here : Sourav Ganguly 117 vs NZ - ICC Knockout - 2000/01

ICC Champions Trophy - 2002/03 :



ICC Champions Trophy - 3rd match, Pool 2 - India v Zimbabwe

ODI no. 1876 | 2002/03 season
Played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (neutral venue)
14 September 2002 - day/night (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly Scored 13 runs & Took two Catches.

Pics:


Videos


Result

India won by 14 Runs

ICC Champions Trophy - 11th match, Pool 2 - India v England

ODI no. 1884 | 2002/03 season
Played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (neutral venue)
22 September 2002 - day/night (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly Led from the Front with a Glorious 117* whereas Sehwag scored 126.

Pics:



Videos


Result

India won by 8 wickets


ICC Champions Trophy - Semi Finals - India v South Africa

ODI no. 1886 | 2002/03 season
Played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo (neutral venue)
25 September 2002 - day/night (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly scored 13 Runs.

Pics :


Videos



                                                            Result

                                          India won by 10 Runs

ICC Champions Trophy -  Finals - India v Sri Lanka

ODI no. 1888 | 2002/03 season
Played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
29 September 2002 - day/night (50-over match)



Match Rained Out after Sri Lanka's Innings.

Re-Match the next Day.

ODI no. 1889 | 2002/03 season
Played at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
30 September 2002 - day/night (50-over match)


Again Rained out after Sri Lanks's Innings.CT Shared


Pics:




Videos



ICC Champions Trophy - 2004


ICC Champions Trophy - 3rd match, Pool C - India v Kenya

ODI no. 2170 | 2004 season
Played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton (neutral venue)
11 September 2004 (50-over match)

Sourav Ganguly Scored a magnificent 90 & also took two catches. Dada was Adjudged Man of the Match.

Pics:

Videos


Result

India won b 98 Runs

STATS & Records of Sourav Ganguly in Champions Trophy History

Sourav Ganguly has the most number of runs for an Indian batsmen in CT.

With 665 runs he is the second best while gayle with 695 tops the table.

 Sourav Ganguly(141* vs SA) Holds the record for Highest Individual runs by an Indian Captain.

Herschelle Gibbs, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle have scored most number of 100s in Champions Trophy cricket - 3 each.

Sourav Ganguly Tops the Batting Average List with a Whopping Avg of 73.88

Sourav Ganguly with 17 Sixes Tops the table of Most No. of Sixes

Sourav Ganguly with 12 Catches Leads the chart for most catches by an Indian.

Sourav Ganguly holds the record for Most Sixes(6) by an Indian in an innings .

Sourav Ganguly was the Leading Scorer in the ICC Knockout Cup - 2000/01 with 348 Runs in 4 matches.

Sourav Ganguly Has Lead India on 11 occasions in CT and has won 7 with 2 rained out games. Winning % of 77.77






Monday 20 May 2013

Pics : Sourav Ganguly Honoured with Banga Bibhusan Award for 2013


Sourav Ganguly was awarded the prestigious Banga Bibhusan award on May 20, along with 24 celebrities including Olympian duo PK Banerjee and Chuni Goswami, actor Mithun Chakraborty, dancer Thankamani Kutti and industrialist BK Birla.

Ganguly, the most successful Indian Test captain, was honoured by West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan at a function also attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The other awardees include film director Ritoporno Ghosh, football legend Tulsidas Balaram, mountaineer Aung Narvu Sherpa, film actors of yesteryear Sandhya Roy and Sabitri Chatterjee, noted baul singer Purnadas Baul, veteran journalist Amitabha Chowdhury, painter Subhaprasanna and hockey Olympian Gurbux Singh.

Ace tennis player Leander Paes, Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, paddler Poulami Ghatak and former India women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami were among chosen for this year’s ‘Bangabhusan award’

Exclusive Pics Here :



©PTI


©PTI


©PTI

Saturday 18 May 2013

Video : First Greg Chappell, Now S Sreesanth - both a pain for Rahul Dravid Says Sourav Ganguly

Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday said he felt bad for Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid who had to "contend with people like Greg Chappell and S. Sreesanth" during his captaincy stints for the country and the IPL franchisee respectively.




A day after Sreesanth and two other Royals players - Ankit Chauhan and Ajit Chandila - were arrested for spot fixing, Ganguly told a television channel: "I really feel bad for Rahul. It's his sheer bad luck. First he had Greg Chappell (as India coach) when he led India. Now he has to contend with Sreesanth. These two people have created confusion."

Chappell, Ganguly's bete noire, was the coach of the India team when Dravid succeeded Ganguly. Chappell continued as coach for the most part of Dravid's captaincy.

Ganguly, however, showered praise on the way Dravid has led the Royals in the ongoing edition of the cash-rich league. (Talk of players being naive is rubbish, says Adam Gilchrist)

"Rajasthan Royals is not a great team. But Rahul has really done wonders as a captain in this IPL. I have not seen him do so well as captain in Tests and one-dayers," said Ganguly about his former Indian teammate.

©PTI

Thursday 16 May 2013

VIDEO : Sourav Ganguly Lashes out at Players caught in Spot Fixing - May 16, 2013

Kerala pacer S. Sreesanth and two other players of the Rajasthan Royals Indian Premier League team have been arrested by the Delhi Police and charged with spot-fixing in the on-going tournament. 

Sreesanth and the others, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, were arrested in a secret swoop at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai, where they were staying, and will be brought to Delhi to be produced in court.  



VIDEO : Watch Here
 
Reacting to this Sourav Ganguly on Headlines Today said :

"I am very upset.It is non-sense.Its about the culture and mentality you were brought in. I am sorry for being a bit harsh on live television.With the money you get in from fixing you wish to live luxuriously, play well this ipl score more you will automatically get that life next season.It is only about the mentality. I am very very sad for Dravid. He has led his team very well.They are in last fours now.By doing this they're hurting other peoples life & Sentiments.It about how well you want your life to be. A rule/Law cannot stop all these. Its about individuals standing up to decide how their life should be."

Saturday 11 May 2013

Then What was Ganguly's Fault This Time ? - An Angry Ashok Malhotra asks PWI Management


Former Indian & Bengal Cricketer Ashok Malhotra Lashes out at the PWI Management in his Column in ABP Today.




Last year, we heard so many things about Ganguly's PWI. Things like he couldn't lead his team properly,couldn't play like a unit which ruined team's performance. This year with Ganguly not in line-up, people said PWI have a great Team & a Great Chance this year. Got fed up of hearing all these. I want to see the faces of all those, who told such things recently. Ganguly is not part/related to your team in any form, so what is your result this year? 12 losses out of 14. With PWI losing yesterday to MI, it has recorded their 9th consecutive loss. You can't restrict Mumbai after you have posted only 112. MI has qualified for the play offs winning the match by 5 wickets. 

My humble question to the PWI management, if your team is so bad with low profile cricketers whom you bought in the auction, no captain can do anything. In Ganguly's regime atleast, they had proper planning for every matches, irrespective of the result of the game. He tried to lead a very mediocre team from the front. That is absent this year. Can u tell me, on what grounds a player like Kane Richardson was bought for a huge amount of 4 crores at the auctions ?. how can Alland Donald be a full time coach, who doesn't have any records of being a full time coach ? Why a spinner like Mendis being made to sit out even on a spinning track ? I dont think PWI management have any answer to these Questions.

There is a wrong belief that a good team can be made if lakhs and lakhs of rupees can be spent in the auctions. if that is the case then teams like RR and SRH wouldn't have won any matches. Believe me, now i get frustrated when i see PWI matches. PWI have uthappa for power-play overs, but in t20 the 15-20 overs are very crucial as more runs come from those overs. i think PWI management has forgot this fact. uthappa, finch, mathews, steve smith are all players of same style. My question is if you have the power to spend money, then why wouldn't you bring a player like AB devilliers in your team. if MI could why you couldn't you buy Rohit Sharma. They have money, but they cant find a player who can score quick as well as big runs. 

You have a 37 man team, 16 of them are foreigners and you still cant find a good foreign pacer. Pace attack is only dependent on Dinda & Bhuvi.
I want to say about captaincy too. 3 captains in this season is unbelievable and ridiculous. Today mathews, tomorrow taylor and day after tomorrow finch. There's nothing called 'Nucleus' in this team and if their are much problems regarding captaincy, why wasn't yuvraj made the captain for whole season ? I heard that he didn't want to take the job of captaincy. Has the PWI management talked to yuvraj regarding this issue? All these questions will remain unanswered.

Translated By : Shrayan
Edited By : Goutham

©ABP

Thursday 9 May 2013

INTERVIEW : Sourav Ganguly Opens up on KKR's poor Run in IPL6, SRK & Much more

Sourav Ganguly is hosting a quiz show named 'TAX YOUR BRAIN', involving schoolkids from various parts of India. Its conducted by IT dept of India. The interview was taken while he was taking a break from shooting in Noida.

Gautam Bhattacharya of ABP INTERVIEWS Sourav Ganguly :




KKR are out of IPL.Your Take ?


Hmm.

Why only 'hmmm'? how did it happen this time, how can the defending  
champs bow out so early?

Its a very common thing in sports. Its not a guarantee that last year champs  will play well this year too. There are many back-to-back matches in IPL.  Today you play a match, tomorrow you have to leave early in the morning and  another match day-after-tomorrow. The problem is that if you start playing badly you dont get time to recover. This happened with KKR. Momentum is a must for a team to play well in T20, which was not with KKR this time.

From the beginning of the season batting failed miserably for KKR.

Yes its one of the reasons but the main reason is the failure of sunil narine. He is no more a mystery. The over dependance on him failed.

Please explain a bit more.

Narine single handedly won KKR many matches last year.Not the same this time.

Why Narine Everytime? last year in the final, he gave away lots of runs against CSK.

Leave aside the final. Rest of the matches, narine was the big factor. Oppositions respected him more than others. He won kkr many tough matches last year. This year, narine is not among the top 6 bowlers which shows that the oppositions have read out narine successfully and it has become tough for KKR to win matches without him.

But Yusuf Pathan is a bigger dissapoinment. If u were the captain would you have sticked to Pathan?

Tough to say. I dont know what i would have done. Opponents have read out his weakness but since the Indian players options were not that much in KKR Gambhir had no choice.

Kallis?

Please leave me, i dont want to say much about KKR again and again.

You thing Gambhir missed a trick with the Batting Order?

Ohhh! Again!!

Please say something about Gambhir?

KKR played 3 seasons under him 1st time Semis, 2nd time champs and this time Knocked out. He has done Well.

Gambhir's batting?

Gambhir hasn't been in the best of forms this year. Add to that his behaviour on the field is very different this time around. He is out of the Indian team in two formats.I guess thats reflecting on the field. Last year he was a relieved Player, he was mentaly relaxed. 'Frame of Mind' is such a thing which is very important, it creates a huge difference in T20 format.

Leaving out Manoj Tiwary out of the Mumbai bound Team right decision?

How can I answer that, its the decision of the KKR management.

During Your Tenure with KKR, SRK used to stay with the Team, Send in SMS's but thats not the case this time around it right ?

How can i comment on it ?. Its between SRK and His Team.

Ban on SRK on entering Wankhede?

No Comments.

Next year, Fresh auctions. Whom do you think Should KKR Retain & Whom should they drop out ?

Oh God, its KKR's decision. i cant interfere.

If you answer like this, people will think You're not the Real Sourav.

What can i do.

Ok. How Should KKR prepare for the next season ?

First thing will be to change the wicket at Eden Gardens. Pitch should be good then it will be easy for KKR in the away games too. An out of form batsmen should be given a good batting track to get his confidence back and not a spin track at your own backyard.If its a hard wicket, then the batsmen can btat better batting through the line. his Confidence will be high for away maches too. T20 is a Hard Hitting game nothing will happen if u cant Hit out.

Tell me about the quiz show you're hosting. The kid contestants will definately ask you a lot of questions after seeing a celebrity of your stature?

Yes, thay do ask a lot of questions.

Looking at this year's dismal record, if SRK offers you the role of mentor next season, will you agree?

i have no problem speaking to SRK. Can't think about that now.

Tell me something about PWI's Dismal Run this Year.

Now please leave me. KKR is enough for today.

Translated By : Shrayan
Edited By : Arun 

©ABP

Sourav Ganguly Hosts " Tax Your Brain " Quiz Show for School Students in Delhi


TAX YOUR BRAIN : A brand new quiz show for school students from class IX to XII. Aim is to reach out to the maximum number of people and evoke their interest in Economy, Finance & Taxation and to make a topic easy to understand and fun through an entertaining quiz show by the Income Tax Department.



Yesterday (May 8, 2013) Tax Your Brain CITY CHAMPS from Jaipur, Raipur, Ranchi & Mysore battled it out to make it to the semi-finals in Film City Noida on the sets of Tax Your Brain Quiz Show hosted by Sourav Ganguly.

By : Goutham Kumar

Series airs on NDTV soon. Watch this space for updates!


Participate in Sourav Ganguly's Show " DADAGIRI " - Registration Details


It all started in 2009, when a word, used by hundreds of thousands of Bengalis, was given a whole new dimension. "Dadagiri" was born and soon, people from all across Bengal took notice. It wasn't long before they were hooked to the show. Dadagiri changed the television behavioral pattern of Bengal and is undoubtedly "The Superhit Game of Bengal".


Dadagiri - the reality show that took Bengal by storm is back with another chance to challenge the Prince of Kolkata Sourav Ganguly at his own game for Season 2013.



 Registration Details for Participating in " DADAGIRI " 2013. 

Follow this Link & Fill up the Registration Form. You can get a Chance to Share Stage with Sourav Ganguly. 


Wednesday 8 May 2013

Sourav Ganguly Talks on Rahul Dravid's Dream Run in IPL 6

Rajasthan Royals can do nothing wrong on home turf. Such is the team’s self-belief, and of course, the tentative approach of the opponent, Delhi Daredevils on this occasion, played a big part in the lop-sided nature of the Indian Premier League contest at the SMS Stadium here on Tuesday.



With Dravid at the helm, Rajasthan Royals has made significant progress as a team and his guiding influence has also helped his partners improve at the other end.

Talking of Rahul Dravid's dream run in IPL 6, Sourav Ganguly said " Teams have  performed extremely well at home turfs this season, i guess they have worked out a plan to make their respective home grounds to their teams advantage. I am very much surprised to see Rahul play so well. He hardly plays any cricket inbetween, only plays 2 months of IPL yet delievers. Hats off to Dravid. It also shows how a franchise should keep calm and believe in their captain. Look at the belief they had on Dravid and how well he has delievered.I am very Happy for Rahul. "

Tuesday 7 May 2013

Video : When Eden Gardens played 'Ekla Chalo' for Sourav Ganguly

May 5, 2012 : Kolkata vs Knight Riders :



The Eden crowd played the song 'Ekla Chalo' from the movie Kahaani, which is originally a song written by Rabindranath Tagore, when their 'beloved' Dada was walking back to the pavilion after his knock of 36 runs. The song was sung by actor Amitabh Bachchan in the movie.

"They tell me when Saurav got out and walked back, they played 'Ekla Chalo re' from Kahani, and the entire stadium joined in and sang," Big B Tweeted on May 5th.

Check out this Exclusive Video : EDEN Gardens Sings 'Ekla Chalo' for Sourav Ganguly 


Saturday 4 May 2013

Sourav Ganguly's Take on India's Squad for Champions Trophy 2013

Opener Gautam Gambhir and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh have been dropped from Indian cricket squad for the Champions Trophy to be held next month.

Shikhar Dhawan makes it to the team and is likely to be the first choice for the slot of the opener.




The selectors have also recalled Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav and Vinay Kumar in the 15-member squad.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Irfan Patan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Vinay Kumar. 

Sourav Ganguly Reacting to India's Squad for the Champions Trophy Said 
"A bit surprised at Gambhir & Yuvraj's Exclusion but Clear Indiction that the selectors are looking Ahead. Also IPL Performances has mattered a lot in the team selection. Murali Vijay has got another chance purely based on his performance vs Australia. Its a Very Good side.Good to See Amit Mishra & Dinesh karthik in the Midst "

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Sourav Ganguly to be Honoured with Banga Bibhushan Award by the WB Government

Banga Bibhushan is a title instituted by the West Bengal Government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. The Banga Bhushan  award is also granted.
The award was conceived by Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 25 July 2011. The first recipients of this title are Amala Shankar, Mahasweta Devi & Many Others.


There is good news for all Sourav Ganguly fans, as the former India captain will be awarded the prestigious Banga Bibhusan award on May 20, along with 24 celebrities including Olympian duo PK Banerjee and Chuni Goswami, actor Mithun Chakraborty, dancer Thankamani Kutti and industrialist BK Birla.

Ganguly, the most successful Indian Test captain, will be honoured by West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan at a function which would also be attended by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The other awardees include film director Ritoporno Ghosh, football legend Tulsidas Balaram, mountaineer Aung Narvu Sherpa, film actors of yesteryear Sandhya Roy and Sabitri Chatterjee, noted baul singer Purnadas Baul, veteran journalist Amitabha Chowdhury, painter Subhaprasanna and hockey Olympian Gurbux Singh.

Ace tennis player Leander Paes, Grandmaster Dibyendu Barua, paddler Poulami Ghatak and former India women’s cricket captain Jhulan Goswami were among those chosen for this year’s ‘Bangabhusan award’, official sources said.

Earlier, legendary playback singer Manna Dey, litterateur and human rights activist Mahasweta Devi, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, dancer Amala Shankar and others were given the award instituted by the West Bengal Government after Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011.

(With inputs from agencies)





FULL VIDEO : Sourav Ganguly & Adam Gilchrist - Panel Discussion on LEADERSHIP at FedEx Master of Deliveries Event - May 1, 2013


Cricket legends and prominent leaders from corporate world discussed their winning strategies at the  FedEx Master of Deliveries Event in Mumbai. Some Excerpts from Ganguly & Gilchrist's Talk. Also Check Pics : Sourav Ganguly & Adam Gilchrist at Fedex Master of Deliveries Event in Mumbai 




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"As a leader, if you want a good team, you have to be transparent with your players. The biggest quality of the leader is to get the trust of his players," Ganguly said at the 'FedEx Master of Deliveries' event where he discussed leadership with Australian great Adam Gilchrist in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

"We are in an environment where we drop people and as soon as you are left out, as a player you have so many questions on your mind. It is easier to drop a person but you have to speak to him. This is where you stand, this is where we feel you can go but we want you back in the squad and he goes back happy," he explained.

"And when he comes back he knows the leader has kept his word, he delivers 100 per cent. If that transparency or trust doesn't generate, at some stage, in a team sport, you find players playing for themselves. And that is when things start going down. You need to avoid getting in those situations," he stressed.

Elaborating on other challenges of captaincy, Ganguly said identifying and managing talent is no small task for a leader. Having people with different personalities in the same dressing room can also be a problem but Ganguly said "you need them to be who they are".

"Like in families you have certain people going the other way, you have to deal with it. I think that is where leadership comes into picture. You have to handle every individual differently. With all due respects, you had a Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to deal with, who are completely different personalities," the Kolkatan said.

"If you asked Yuvraj Singh to read the book he wouldn't hit the cricket ball the next day. The other way, if you asked Rahul Dravid to go for a party in the night, he wouldn't wake up the next morning," he quipped.

"These are two different personalities and you have to let them lead their lives. As a leader you have to make sure that their efforts are at the right time. Adam had Shane Warne at one end and Steve Waugh at the other. They are different personalities and at the end of the day, they delivered for Australian cricket," Ganguly added.

Talking about the game in general, Ganguly said the players should just focus on performance when they step on the field and not even think about the rest of the issues.

"I have always believed that once you walk on the cricket field as a player, whoever it maybe 100 Test matches or first game, it is about the cricket ball you should worry. The rest of the thought processes shouldn't be on your mind," he said.

"What is the selector thinking, what is the captain thinking, what the coach thinks about you, whether it is the last opportunity or the first opportunity. We as players go through that. Different players can take different pressures.

All you should worry about is the cricket ball and not about place," he added.

Regarded as India's most successful captain, Ganguly said that sometimes things don't go to plan.

"I was on the wrong side but I was fortunate to watch Adam's 100 in Mumbai on an absolute square turf. We had prepared everything before the start of the series. After four or five overs, I looked at John Wright who was standing at the balcony because all I did was exactly opposite of what we spoke the previous night," he said.

"Fifty per cent of the times you can decide something and it happens the other way. In that era, they were such a great side, you had (Matthew) Hayden and (Justin) Langer, as captain you brought in a left-arm seamer, tried to bring him back take it away from Langer or bowl the short ball," he said.


Gilchrist, who was part of the Australian team that won three successive 50-over World Cups, said the trip to India in 2001 changed him.

“It was a talented bunch of cricketers to have in one generation. It still needed managing. I think we were very well managed by the leadership group that we had. I remember we came to India a number of times unsuccessful and this was the final frontier,” he said.

“At the start of 2001 tour, Steve Waugh wrote at the first team meeting a quote about attitude. It said attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? A great question to ask yourself every time you wake up. Going back to history, we were great whiners, we were out of our comfort zone here in India. So we could use that as an excuse,” he said.

“The conditions weren’t right, so that was an excuse. Steve wasn’t going to allow any of that. Although we didn’t win that series thanks to the good man here (Sourav Ganguly) and his team that he led so well. It was the catalyst for us to learn to deal with foreign conditions. The change that he (Waugh) created the atmosphere that we wanted to be (in), I think that was terrific leadership,” he added.

©PTI



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