I hated Sourav Ganguly when I played against him: Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, has said that he didn’t use to like Sourav Ganguly during their playing days. Back in 2002, the duo was involved in one of the most thrilling finals the cricket world has ever been a witness to. In the NatWest series final, Ganguly’s India chased down 326 to emerge victorious. Hussain scored a 128-ball 115, but his knock went in vain.

About Ganguly, Hussain was of the opinion that the Prince of Kolkata turned India into a brute force. The retired English skipper, lauded Dada, as Ganguly is popularly known, for his passion towards the game.  Hussain also put forth some instances when Ganguly made him wait for the toss. However, Hussain mentioned that he has loved his commentary stint with his Indian counterpart.

Sourav Ganguly understood the passion of Indian cricket fans, says Hussain

“I have always said, and this is a generalisation, but I have always said about Ganguly, that he made India a tougher side. So, before Ganguly, there were very talented side, but you felt they were also a nice side – very down to earth, would meet you with morning greetings, morning Nasser, it was a very pleasant experience,” Hussain told.

“Playing against a Ganguly side, you knew you were in a battle, you knew that Ganguly understood the passion of Indian cricket fans and it wasn’t just a game of cricket. It was more important than a game of cricket,” Hussain stated.

“He was feisty and he picked feisty cricketers whether it would be Harbhajan or Yuvraj or whoever – feisty in your face cricketers – that when you met him away from the game, were lovely, nice. Sourav’s like that. When I played against Sourav, I hated him, he used to make me wait for the toss every single time and I’ll be like, Ganguly, its 10.30, we have to toss,” he added.

Ganguly took over as the national skipper after the match-fixing scandals. But he changed the face of their cricket. In 2001, India beat Australia in the three-match Test series at home. He also took India to the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, though the Men in Blue were beaten black and blue. He has left behind a rich legacy for the youngsters to follow.