Former India batsman Virender Sehwag believes Sourav Ganguly is the perfect person to lead the Board of Control for Cricket in India and spoke about how the former captain instilled a sense of confidence in all his players when he was captain of the side. He also recollected the incident when the skipper asked him to open the innings and how this move changed his entire career.
"I often get asked this question: How did I become an opener from a middle-order batsman? Dada had a big role to play in my shift to the top of the order. It all started with him asking me to open. My reaction was simple: "Why aren't you opening, even you open, even Sachin opens?" Ganguly wrote in his column for Indian Express.
Ganguly's practical approach to things
Sehwag also said that Ganguly always instilled a sense of confidence in his young players and how he always had a practical approach to different situations.
"But what convinced me was his very practical suggestion that he was to give me later. He said, "I will give you three to four innings as an opener. Even if you fail, you will continue to play. And before I drop you, I will again give you a chance in the middle (order)," Ganguly further wrote.
One of the first agendas Ganguly said he would like to address was to fix the financial condition of domestic players and this Sehwag believes is the best man to do this is Sourav Ganguly who understands grassroots culture all across the country.
"It was really heartening to hear that Ganguly wants to start from home. One of his opening statements was about improving India's domestic cricket. He is the best man to do the job. Ganguly knows the problems at the grassroots. When he was dropped from the Indian team, he spent a lot of time travelling around the country. I still remember that when he returned to the Indian team, he used to talk about what was lacking in the domestic circuit," Sehwag went on to explain.
Speaking about Ganguly's mantra, Sehwag wrote that the former captain was always upbeat, even when things were not going for him.
"But even in his tough times, Dada never looked shattered. That's his greatness, that's what we learned from him. There will be ups and downs but dukhi nahi hona, confidence rakhna hai, self-belief nahin khona. (Don't feel sad, maintain confidence, don't lose self-belief)," Sehwag said.
