Sourav Ganguly rejected MS Dhoni’s offer to captain in his final test match

Sourav Ganguly was one of the greatest skippers in the history of Indian cricket, as ‘Dada’ oversaw a crucial phase that saw team India evolve in to a team capable of winning both at home as well as in foreign conditions.

The fiery Indian skipper changed the face of the national team forever, as he made it his mission to take Indian cricket to new heights. ‘Dada’ led India to unprecedented success, as the team won in Australia, England, Pakistan and also reached a world cup final.

Ganguly retired in 2008, after he helped India regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy against the Australians at home. Ganguly famously scored a hundred in his first innings, and then got out for a duck in his last innings at Nagpur.

Ahead of the release of his new autobiography, ‘A Century Is Not Enough, Ganguly revealed that MS Dhoni had asked him to captain the side in his last test match.

“As the match came to a close, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a surprise gesture asked me to lead. I had rejected his offer earlier in the day, but could not refuse a second time.”

“But I must admit, at that stage, I found it difficult to focus. So after three overs I handed it back to Dhoni saying, it is your job, MS. We both smiled.”

Ganguly did score a fluent 85 in the first innings of his last test match.

“The man the Indian selectors had kept on an indefinite trial did stand up to the Australian attack and walked away with a solid 85. I missed the coveted three-figure mark only by 15 runs but my friend Sach [Tendulkar] lent an additional flavour to the party by getting a rock-solid hundred.”

“What made the occasion happier was that we won the Test. I ended my final innings in Test cricket in a first-ball duck. Looking back I still feel it was a loose shot as I tried to play Jason Krejza against the turn. The bat had closed early and Krejza easily accepted a low return catch. I have no regrets. It was a bad shot and I paid the price. But I still regret missing the hundred. It was mine for the taking,” said Ganguly.