Captain Marvel, chilled-out dad

India's most successful cricket captain talks to Aabhas Sharma about life after cricket, the second season of IPL and judging a reality dance show on TV.

His life as a cricketer could well have been a Bollywood movie. It had almost everything you’d expect: Lots of drama, emotions, heroes, villains... but Sourav Ganguly doesn’t miss that life too much. He is happy spending time with his family — something that has been long over due — and relaxing at home.

Seventeen years is a long time for a career in sports. And if that career happened to resemble Ganguly’s, it could seem even longer. As India’s most successful captain ever, Ganguly’s career has been well documented: The high of getting a magnificent hundred on debut, losing the World Cup final, the whole controversy with Greg Chappell, being dropped and making a comeback, Ganguly has literally seen it all. “I have no regrets and wouldn’t swap it for anything in the world,” says the man who built a new India at least as far as cricket was concerned: A team that wasn’t afraid to take on the world, that played hard yet fair and refused to be intimidated by anyone.

Yet, Ganguly remains modest when speaking about his stint as captain. “I had a great bunch of cricketers to lead and everyone played their part to the fullest.” We all know that the high point in his career was the infamous 2001 series win against Australia as well as reaching the World Cup Final in 2003. But there are some regrets that he’ll always have: “It was a bitter blow losing the final” to the Aussies, he says.

Away from cricket for over six months now, the former skipper has been preparing for the second season of the IPL. In fact, his first task as captain for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), was off the field. He had to choose cheerleaders for his team through a TV programme called Knights and Angels. It was his team-owner Shah Rukh Khan’s suggestion. “He’s a very hands-on owner and it’s always good to have him around since his energy levels are so high”. So how was the experience? “Dancing has never been my cup of tea,” he says, so his role was to judge the contestants based on their attitude and energy levels. “After all, these people will be cheering my team. And T20 is as much about attitude as it is about cricket.”

Life after cricket has been fun so far. Seeing his daughter grow up, spending time with his family has been great and, no, he doesn’t miss cricket that much. He will be back on the field with the Knight Riders in April and has been doing light training for that. “I am looking forward to the second season. Hopefully, we will do better than the last time.”

The talk invariably shifts to how well the Indian team has been playing and the former skipper says he is more than happy to see realising its potential. “Most of the players are hungry for success” and it is showing. “As a fan”, he says, “it’s good to see the Indian team doing well.”

With Knight Riders the first season of the IPL was a revelation. While T20 was always going to be a hit as far as spectators are concerned, it was amazing to see people throng to watch the IPL matches. He expects the second season to be even more exciting, never mind doubts over how and when the series will actually take place.

Does he miss being part of the competitive action, especially when the Indian team is doing so well? Not at all, he says. “I had a fair share of cricket and it’s been only few months, so even the withdrawal symptoms haven’t kicked in yet.”

Besides, it’s not as if he will be away completely from the game. All set for the IPL, Ganguly would be keen to show his fans a glimpse of the old days. “I just hope that as a team we perform well and if I can contribute to the team’s cause, I would be more than happy.”

Spoken like a true captain!