8 Decisions by Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni that changed Indian cricket

If you talk about the past 20 years, the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been the torchbearers of whirlwind change in Indian cricket.

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7. Ganguly- Fighting tooth and nails with the selectors for Anil Kumble for the 2003-04 Australian tour

Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble
Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. (Photo Source: Twitter)

When you think of the 2003-04 Indian tour of Australia, what are the things that strike your mind instantly? Rahul Dravid’s marathon 233 at the Adelaide Oval? VVS Laxman’s gorgeous stroke play throughout the series? Sourav Ganguly’s 144 at the Gabba or Sachin Tendulkar’s defiant 241 at the SCG where he didn’t play a single cover-drive? Ajit Agarkar’s 6-42 at the Oval? Or is it the marathon spells bowled by Anil Kumble- who like a one-man army just bowled and bowled and bowled to keep Australia at tenterhooks?

But, do you know Anil Kumble wasn’t the first choice of selectors for the Australian tour? The reasoning that selectors gave was that ‘Jumbo’ does not take wickets outside the sub-continent and they wanted a left-arm spin of Murali Karthik to replace the champion leg-spinner. Enter Sourav Ganguly. The Prince of Kolkata fought tooth and nails with the selectors and even risked his job in order to have him in the set-up.

“I told John if you leave Anil, he may not play for India again. I said I am not going to sign the selection sheet till Anil is in the side,” he added. “The selectors got fed up with me and said if I don’t play well, if the team does not play well and if Kumble does not play well, I will be the first person to go before anyone goes. I said fine, I am ready to take that risk and we will see what happens,” Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The result: Kumble not only finished as the leading wicket-taker in the four-match series– 24 wickets at 29.58– but also emerged as the spinner with the most number of wickets- 80- in a calendar year in the history of Test cricket.

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