At the launch of Ganguly's book, A Century Is Not Enough, those memories brought out a smile from the man himself, his teammate Sachin Tendulkar and current India star Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma (right), Sachin Tendulkar during the launch of Sourav Ganguly’s (left) book at a city hotel yesterday. Pic/Suresh Karkera
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Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly's cricket career can be matched by only a handful in the sport. From his Test debut century at Lord's in 1996, his captaincy stint from 2000 and for his on-field encounters with opposition cricketers, the wily southpaw is remembered for many achievements.
Memorable Lord's final
However, one memory that will always be etched in memory of every Indian cricket fan was when Dada took his shirt off and began swinging it at the Lord's balcony after India beat England by two wickets in the 2002 NatWest Series final.
Yesterday, at the launch of Ganguly's book, A Century Is Not Enough, those memories brought out a smile from the man himself, his teammate Sachin Tendulkar and current India star Rohit Sharma who were part of a panel discussion during the Mumbai launch of the book.
Ganguly, 45, recalled: "When I took off the t-shirt, one gentleman standing next to me was pulling it down. I think it was VVS Laxman. He was sitting next to me and there was Harbhajan Singh behind me and asking me what to do. I said you take it off too" Ganguly received a round applause from a packed hall in a suburban
city hotel.
Tendulkar chipped in: "First of all, I thought, what is he doing? He's in the Lord's balcony, taking off his t-shirt and you don't even have six packs." Back home, Rohit, who watched the incident on television with his friends, stumped the audience with his answer. "I was 13 to 14 years old. As soon as he removed his t-shirt, we all removed our t-shirts. We kept doing the same till he stopped. We did chest bumps after that," Rohit said.
SRT throws a bouncer
During the dying minutes of the discussion which was loaded with anecdotes, Tendulkar threw a bouncer at Ganguly. He asked: "When will you become the BCCI president?" Ganguly replied: "Only when you fight the Mumbai Cricket Association elections for the secretary's post. So you tell me, because at the moment, the Supreme Court is kicking all of us out. You're the only person left with no tenure, no time,
no age.
"You are as fresh as a morning flower. So if you put your hand up, I am ready to put my hand up too."
Also Read: Did You Know Virender Sehwag Came Knocking On Sourav Ganguly's Door At 5.30 Am?
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