'I regret dropping...' - Sourav Ganguly reflects on tough captaincy calls

Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, known for his graceful left-handed batting and aggressive leadership, recently opened up about the regrets he carries from his illustrious career. Despite scoring an impressive 38 international centuries and amassing over 18,500 runs across 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, Ganguly admits he left a few milestones behind.

 

Ganguly regrets missing out on multiple hundreds

 

In a candid conversation with PTI, Ganguly revealed he often thinks about the number of innings where he fell short of a hundred. "I missed too many centuries, so many 80s and 90s," he said. A closer look at his career reveals he was dismissed in the 80s and 90s on 30 occasions, which could have easily pushed his century tally beyond 50 had he converted those starts. 

 

Ganguly confessed he occasionally watches his old innings alone, especially when his wife is away and his daughter Sara is in London. "I sit on YouTube and watch my old matches. I often think, ‘Oh no, got out on 70 here too.’ It should have been a hundred. But what's done is done."  Ganguly opens up on dropping Anil Kumble

 

With 72 ODI fifties and 35 in Tests, Ganguly’s consistency remains undeniable. However, his journey also involved difficult decisions as captain. One such moment he still thinks about is dropping legendary spinner Anil Kumble from the playing 11. “I regret that. He was such a great bowler,” Ganguly admitted.

 

On the competitive front, he named Australia as his favorite opponent and called Glenn McGrath the toughest bowler he faced, reflecting the fierce battles of his era.  The ongoing 1st Test match between England and India saw three centurions for India already with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant coming up with respective hundreds to help India put a good score in the 1st innings at Headingley in England.