Sourav Ganguly appointed vice-chairman of WB Sports Council

The West Bengal government on Wednesday reconstituted the Sports Council by inducting former India captain Sourav Ganguly as one of its its vice-chairmen.

Ganguly will work alongside former footballers Gouranga Banerjee, Compton Dutta, international paddler Poulami Ghatak and GM Dibyendu Barua.

"We are trying to bring everybody from all disciplines to revive the sports in Bengal," sports minister Madan Mitra told reporters while announcing the reconstitution of the Sports Council.

It was also decided to divide the council into two committees -- advisory board and working committee. Both would be headed by Mitra.

The advisory board will have eight vice-chairmen including hockey Olympians Gurbux Singh and Dr Vece Paes, football Olympian Chuni Goswami and Dronacharya awardee Syed Nayeemuddin.

The advisory board will also have former Test cricketer Arun Lal, footballers Shyam Thapa and Subrata Bhattacharya.

Former Indian football captain P K Banerjee and Leslie Claudius will be members in the working committee which will have representation from various sports

Sourav Ganguly back in IPL, signs up with Pune Warriors

After going unsold in the players' auction, former India captain Sourav Ganguly today made a dramatic return to the Indian Premier League by signing up for struggling franchise Pune Warriors as replacement for injured pacer Ashish Nehra.

"We were waiting for Ashish Nehra's fitness report and ultimately the report came yesterday. I was already in talks with Ganguly and we decided that the amount of experience that Sourav has in cricket will no doubt help the team. So we finalised Ganguly last night," Pune Warriors team director Abhijit Sarkar said referring to the finger injury that Nehra has been nursing.

Ganguly, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders for three IPL seasons captaining them in two editions, went unsold in the January players' auction despite a rather modest base price of $4,00,000.

The 38-year-old refused a mentor's role with KKR after that and there had been speculation of a possible comeback through another franchise.

The left-handed batman was first sought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala but their application was rejected by the IPL's governing council.

However, he signed on the dotted line for Pune yesterday, giving a major fillip to the side which has lost six matches on the trot after starting promisingly with a couple of back-to-back wins.

Cricket fraternity praises Tendulkar

India's cricket fraternity today lavished praise on country's batting icon Sachin Tendulkar for becoming the first player in the game's history to cross the 17,000-run mark.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was chasing the milestone from the onset of the series against Australia, achieved the feat when he, requiring seven runs coming into today's match, played an on-drive to fetch three off pacer Ben Hilfenhaus during the fifth one-dayer in Hyderabad.

"It's really a remarkable achievement. He is one of the best cricketers of the world cricket. I have had some good memories with him, having partnering him for years in one-day cricket," said former India skipper Sourav Ganguly. The southpaw also wished the little master for the 2011 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"I wish he scores another 2000 runs by 2011 World Cup. Sachin knows best how to accumulate runs. Once he gets going he becomes unstoppable," Ganguly said. Meanwhile, Mumbai batsman Wasim Jaffer hoped that Tendulkar would also achieve 20,000-run mark.

He has achieved several records. I hope that he reached 20,000-run mark. Whatever he has achieved, it is nearly impossible to achieve for anyone else. I just wish that he keeps on going and gets more and more runs for India," Jaffer said.

Sachin Tendulkar reached the new ODI milestone in his 435th match and 66th tie against the World Cup holders. "It's a great achievement. Anyone playing for 21 years is not an easy job, we are proud of him," said India all-rounder Rohit Sharma. "Sachin has played for 20 odd years and I think, it's wonderful task by a man who has achieved so much. I congratulate him," South Africa cricketer Herchelle Gibbs said.

Sachin Tendulkar made a 141-ball 175 in front of the 35,000 strong packed crowd which erupted in joy when Tendulkar reached the magic figure in company of opening partner Virender Sehwag.

Sourav Ganguly reveals secret behind toss delay

Almost eight years after he got under the skin of Steve Waugh in the 2001 series, Sourav Ganguly today revealed the secret of making the Australian captain wait for the toss.

Interacting with the participants of his new TV reality show Dadagiri Unlimited, the former India captain said the delay was not deliberate.

"There is a tradition that both team captains have to sport the team blazer while going for the toss. On that particular day, I did not get my blazer and it took time to get hold of it... That was the reason for the delay," Ganguly told a participant.

In the epic 2001 series, India beat Australia 2-1 to end the Aussies world record of Test wins.

The toss incident is the folklore with the former World Cup winning Australian captain criticising the iconic left-hander for deliberately delaying the proceedings.

The two former skippers had a strained relationship during the historic series with Ganguly's turning up late during India's home series being the lowest point.

In his autobiography, 'Out Of My Comfort Zone', Waugh has criticised Ganguly dubbing him 'elitist' saying he was 'wound up' by the former Indian captain's 'continued petulance' in being late for the toss and then walking off.

It's official, KKR and Buchanan part ways

Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday made a formal announcement of sacking its controversial Australian coach John Buchanan, claiming it was an amicable parting of ways by both the parties.

KKR co-owner Jay Mehta said in a statement that the Aussie has been released with "immediate effect".

"(John) Buchanan has informed Knight Riders that despite his hard work over the past two seasons, he has not achieved everything that he set out to and has not been able take the franchise into the future as per his vision for this team. We have amicably agreed that Knight Riders will release him from his contract with immediate effect," Mehta said.

The KKR management refrained from using any harsh words and instead, wished Buchanan success in his future endeavours.

"I would like to state that John is a great coach. He had a vision for Knight Riders and did not waver from this vision.

Unfortunately, it has not brought the results that are so necessary to this franchise. Knight Riders would like to wish him every success in his future wherever that may take him," Mehta said.

Buchanan, on his part, said his thoughts were no more "aligning" with the team management and he was "very disappointed in not being able to continue with the Knight Riders and complete the work I started some 18 months."

"I think we have the makings of a very good IPL franchise, and the foundations are there for 2010. I would like to thank everyone who supported me at Knight Riders, and I wish the team every success in 2010," Buchanan was quoted as saying in the release.

With Buchanan out, names of former Sri Lankan and Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was doing round for the vacant coach's job even though the NCA chief maintained that he was "employed with BCCI".

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan's names are also said to be in contention.

The KKR management, meanwhile, announced that they would take a fresh approach to the 2010 season.

"While the 2009 IPL season was an exciting and successful event, the Kolkata Knight Riders regretfully did not achieve what was required of them during the tournament, failing to fulfill both their own and their fans' expectations," the franchisee said.

"The Knight Riders management and owners have reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the team with all parties involved and are pro-actively looking for a new approach to ensure Knight Riders are well prepared for the 2010 season of IPL and beyond," it added.

KKR to get rid of Buchanan

The Kolkata Knight Riders are set to dump their coach John Buchanan. Sources in Kolkata, Mumbai and England say the controversial Aussie is being shown the door. It was always on the cards. The most high profile team had finished at the bottom of the IPL II in South Africa.

Even as the KKR top brass refused to confirm the development, reports said the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side informed this to the former Australian coach. Buchanan had a three year contract with the Kolkata franchisee.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh is considered a possible candidate to succeed his one-time coach. Waugh, incidentally, was in Mumbai but it could not be confirmed if he had met KKR officials. The other names doing the rounds are those of former current National Cricket Academy coach Dav Whatmore and former India coach Lalchand Rajput.

When contacted, team CEO Joy Bhattacharya said he was not in a position to comment on this episode right now. "At the moment, I cannot confirm the development,"

Bhattacharya said and refused to elaborate further. Shah Rukh's media manager too
declined to comment saying, "We don't have any such reports. Both Shah Rukh Khan and (co-owner) Jay Mehta are out of station, so it's difficult to comment right now. Whenever, we get any confirmation, we will let you know."

However, the source said the Buchanan chapter was closed soon after the Australian landed a role with English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"He (Buchanan) is joining the Englishmen for their Ashes preparation on June 28 in a short-term consultancy role with the ECB, which could develop into a full-time post," the insider said. "Buchanan was never in Shah Rukh's good books, especially after the team's disastrous show in South Africa. In fact, he (SRK) refused to meet the coach and refused him an appointment at his bungalow in Mumbai," claimed the source.

But Buchanan himself has hinted that his role in Kolkata will be ending soon. Whatmore, meanwhile, dismissed said he was not being approached for the job. "I am not in talks with anyone," the former Sri Lankan coach told a news agency.
--With inputs from agencies

Batsmen will decide the fate of the tour: Sourav Ganguly

These are testing times for Mahendra Singh Dhoni -- both figuratively and realistically. His first tour overseas as Test captain is to a country where India have always come a cropper.

The last time India crossed the Tasman Sea, they were bludgeoned into submission. The scars are fresh in the memory of many players, ask Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag or even John Wright.

So what can Dhoni do to avoid a similar pummelling from the home team this time round?

"Simple, bat well," says Sourav Ganguly, who led India in that disastrous tour of 2002-03, where India lost the Test series 2-0 and the ODIs 5-2. It is not a suggestion. It is an advice.

Ganguly himself admits the advice is not so simple, after all. "It is not easy to bat well there. But the reality is that batting will decide the fate of the tour. It would require a lot of application, concentration, perfect shot selection..." Ganguly goes on to say.

India's most successful captain ever says the playing conditions will be tough enough although India, unlike in the past, would be playing at the end of the New Zealand season.

"The ball does a lot there. It moves a lot. The pitches are very demanding. So the batsmen will have to cope up a lot." The former captain, however, is confident that Indian batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, have the capability to come good on the tour.

Ganguly, who is the in city to judge a reality show for NDTV Imagine, thinks lack of a practice match before the Test series is not the best way to approach it. Particularly for a side that is aspiring to be the No. 1 Test team in the world.

"The Test specialists will have to do a lot of adjustments in a quick time. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman need to adjust to the conditions fast," he says.

The Bengal player, however, is not worried of team's former coach John Wright's presence in the rival camp. "It is up to the players. The coach's role is just about 10 per cent. So I'm not overtly worried that John would pass on information that can help the New Zealanders."

He, however, admitted that India have a good coach in Gary Kirsten, who has a striking similarity with Wright. "They both are good coaches but eventually it will boil down to the players."

Ganguly felt the next two years will be crucial for India. "The next two years will be important if they want to be the No. 1 side in the world. Currently South Africa look the best and Ricky Ponting's Australia are not far behind Graeme Smith's men," he said.

India, according to him, are just behind South Africa and Australia.

Sourav Ganguly included in BCCI's Technical committee

Barely a few weeks after retiring from international cricket, former India captain Sourav Ganguly was on Thursday nominated as a member of the BCCI's Technical Committee.

"Sourav Ganguly has been nominated to the Technical Committee of the BCCI," a press release from the BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said.

Ganguly has the experience of close to 20 years of cricket behind him and will be a key addition to the Technical Committee, the powerful body which takes decisions on cricketing matters and rule changes.

The BCCI's technical committee is headed by former captain Sunil Gavaskar and also has former Test batsman Chetan Chauhan, national selector Kris Srikkanth among other members.

Following is the full list of technical committee members: Sunil Gavaskar (Chairman), Chetan Chauhan, M V Sridhar, Biman Bhattacharjee, Milind Rege, Gyanendra Pandey, Kris Srikkanth, Sourav Ganguly, VK Ramaswamy, N Srinivasan.

India need to phase out retirement of seniors: Akram

The retirement of India's senior cricketers should be done in a phased manner, according to Pakistan's pace legend Wasim Akram who said it was imperative for India to maintain the ideal blend of youth and experience in the Test team.

Akram said it was not easy to find immediate replacements for the senior players in Test cricket where experience counts a lot.

"It is important to maintain the right blend of youth and experience in the Test team. In Twenty20 cricket, you may need young legs, but you can't do without experience in Test cricket", Akram said.

Former captain Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly retired from international cricket after the recent Test series against Australia amidst speculation that some of the senior players had been given a deadline to hang their boots.

The intense media speculation on the future of the senior players has not amused the former Pakistan captain who said putting pressure on these stalwarts was extremely unfair.

"The players should be left to decide when they want to quit", he said.

"If too many senior players retire at the same time, there will be a big void. India should guard against that as it could weaken the Test team considerably", he said.

On Rahul Dravid's lean form, Akram said it was just a matter of one good knock and the seasoned batsman will rediscover his touch.

"He (Dravid) just needs one good knock. That will work wonders for him. Every player goes through a bad patch, he has failed in only two series. He is too good a player and there is no doubt that he will bounce back soon", the legendary paceman pointed out.

Yuvraj fourth Indian to score 10 ODI tons

Yuvraj Singh with his match winning 118 against England here Monday became the fourth Indian to score ten or more centuries in One-Day Internationals.

Sachin Tendulkar (42), Sourav Ganguly (22) and Rahul Dravid (12) are the other Indians to have achieved the feat.

Yuvraj has been in fine form and this was his second consecutive century after an unbeaten 138 in Rajkot on Friday. He also picked up four wickets for 28 runs from his 10 overs Monday and was adjudged as the Man of the Match.

He is the fifth Indian batsman after Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman to score back to back hundreds in ODIs.

Yuvraj now has 1060 runs at an average of 55.78 against England and is the second Indian after Tendulkar to aggregate more than 1,000 runs against the Englishmen. Tendulkar has scored 1274 at an average of 42.46, including one century in 34 matches.

Yuvraj also became the first batsman to register a hundred at the Maharani Usha Raje Trust Cricket Ground. With Gautam Gambhir (70), Yuvraj was associated in a 134-run stand, the best ever fourth-wicket stand between the two countries.

Yuvraj is now the third Indian, after Tendulkar and Ganguly, and the tenth all-rounder to post a hundred and claim four wickets or more in the same match.

Sourav Ganguly to play Bengal's last Ranji tie

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who has retired from international cricket, will play Bengal's last Plate Division Ranji Trophy match against Vidarbha in Nagpur next month.

Ganguly, who retired from international cricket after the Test series against Australia, visited Eden Gardens on Monday where Bengal is playing Services.

The former captain spoke to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) secretary Arun Mitra and conveyed his decision to play in the match against Vidarbha in Nagpur from December 12-15.

Ganguly, however, is yet to decide on whether he would continue playing for Bengal should the side reach the knockout stage of the tournament.

BCCI wants Test opener to be put off by a day

The Indian cricket board wants the first Test against England at Ahmedabad put off by a day to allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni play in the Champions T20 League final two days prior to it in case his team Chennai Super Kings make it to the title-contest.

"I can confirm that an approach has been made by the Indian board to put it off by a day, but no decision has been taken so far," England team's media manager Andrew Walpole said here on Monday.

Walpole said that the approach was made by the BCCI apparently to help Dhoni's case in the December 3-10 USD six million dollar prize money event jointly owned by the BCCI and its Australian and South African counterparts.

Walpole also indicated that the England and Wales Cricket Board was not likely to respond to BCCI request.

The Test opener is to be held from December 11 at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium a day after the Champions League final at Chennai.

The second and final Test the Platinum Jubilee encounter is to be played at Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium from December 19-23 before the visiting team returns home in time for Christmas.

If the request is acceded to by the ECB and the England team, both the teams' players would get only two days' time between the two Tests.

I would like to be a cricket administrator: Sourav Ganguly

Quickly settling down into a new life after retiring from international cricket, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly Friday began penning columns on the One-Day home series against England.

"It will be a good series and I will love watching it sitting on my sofa and not worrying about anything. Good luck India," Ganguly said in his maiden column that appeared in dailies like The Telegraph and Aajkaal on Friday.

Flooded with offers from television channels and newspapers for his expert views, Ganguly has chosen cricket master Sunil Gavaskar's Professional Management Group to launch his off-field career, and the column is the product of that arrangement.

Though Ganguly had earlier been a regular columnist during his five-year stint as Indian captain, this is the first time he can write on cricketing matters taking a ringside view.

Speculation is also rife on whether the talismanic left hander would play in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal, which has been demoted to the Plate division last season.

"Though he was earlier reluctant to play, now he has assured us that he will turn out for the state team if it hits a trough," said a Bengal selector.

The Ranji appearance could give Ganguly the much-needed match fitness for the gruelling Indian Premier League (IPL) - with which he has a contract to play for two more seasons - next year as skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Apart from the on-field assignments, Ganguly seems to be going slow on taking up television commentary as a full-time occupation. Those close to him say after the hectic travel schedule for the last 12 years on India duty, Ganguly now wants to relax for a while at home.

"He relishes biryani, kebabs and fried junk food. He has lost out on these fronts in his compulsion to stay fit during his playing days. Now he wants to make up," said a close friend.

Ganguly's thriving cricket academy in Salt Lake could also keep him busy, while the now-former cricketer has himself expressed a wish to get into the cricket administration.

"I would like be a cricket administrator. First step would definitely be the Cricket Association of Bengal," he was quoted as saying.

The leadership qualities ingrained in Ganguly, much in evidence during his stewardship of the Indian team, could again get manifested in entrepreneurial ventures. There is already talk, though without much confirmation, of a mineral water bottling plant, a couple of schools as also an IT park that Ganguly could be eyeing.

A section of the media had recently come out with reports that Ganguly would delve into politics by joining West Bengal's ruling Left front partner Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M), and could even be pitted against opposition Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in the Lok Sabha polls next year.

But Ganguly has himself discounted any possibility of entering politics.

"Lot of things have been written on this issue. They simply have no basis. As of now, I don't have nay such plans," he said in a recent interview.

The key is to take early Indian wickets: Collingwood

The key to bouncing back against India in the second one-day International here on Monday after their huge defeat in the opening encounter at Rajkot would be to take early wickets and put the hosts under pressure, feels England all-rounder Paul Collingwood.

"We just have to stop them. We need to be more aggressive. We want to hit India hard. The key is to take early wickets and put them under pressure," Collingwood said at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association stadium on Sunday.

"India is very much like any other team. We did not get into a situation from where we could get on top of them. Hopefully we can do it tomorrow," he said.

The visiting team's lower middle order batsman claimed that despite the setbacks for the team in the Stanford Super Series in Antigua and the first ODI at Rajkot, the team was high on confidence.

"Ours in a close-knit team. The morale is very high. We will definitely bounce back (in the series)," he said ahead of the second match.

The good news for the visiting team is the return to fitness of their left arm swing bowler Ryan Sidebottom who gives their attack variety that it lacked at Rajkot.

"Ryan is fully fit to play," Collingwood said.

He said if Yuvraj Singh, who demolished the England attack at Rajkot with a blazing 138 not out, is not available for Monday's tie, it would be an advantage for the tourists.

"It was one of the best innings in one-day internationals. He has scored heavily against us in the Twenty20 World Championship at Durban. If he's not able to play tomorrow, obviously it would be bonus for us," he said.

The fast track to No.1 in cricket

India's thumping win over England in the first ODI, with none of the fab four in the team, again underlines the fact that the emerging talent in India has the potential to take it to number one in all forms of the game. England is no push-over, considering it beat the number two side South Africa 4-0 before coming to India. The triumph in the tri-series Down Under, the conquering of Mendis in Lanka, and the awesome depth of talent on display Friday clearly show the ODI and T20 teams led by MS Dhoni are on a rapid trajectory to the top.

The same cannot be said of the Test team, despite its comprehensive victory over the number one side Australia in the series just concluded. It has to be remembered that it was only an injury to Anil Kumble that enabled the inclusion of Amit Mishra, whose five-wicket haul on debut in the first innings at Mohali helped India surge ahead of Australia in the series.

Apart from Kumble's bowling and captaincy, there were other glaring weaknesses in the Test team. It's easy to brush these weaknesses under the carpet when a team beats the world champions as thoroughly as India did. But that is precisely what can prevent India's climb to the No.1 spot in Test cricket. Let's take them one by one.

MUDDLE ORDER
The middle order remained unreliable during the India-Australia series, although obviously not to the extent it failed in Sri Lanka. The pitches were easier, and the Aussies did not pick a quality spinner until the last Test. And yet, India was on the verge of losing the first Test in Bangalore until an improbable partnership between the bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan came to the rescue. Then at Mohali on the first day, three quick wickets in the second session had India floundering until Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni took them to an imposing total. In Delhi, on a sleeping beauty of a pitch, India won the toss and almost squandered the advantage by losing two wickets in the first hour.

Finally, in Nagpur, at 166-6 in the second innings India was staring down the barrel until Dhoni and Bhajji took them to safety thanks to Ricky Ponting's decision not to use Shane Watson after tea in order to improve the over-rate and avoid a ban. In each of these cases, the collapse was triggered by the failure of the one-down batsman. Dravid's awful form meant that India invariably lost two or three quick wickets even after the openers had got them off to good starts against the new ball. Dravid has averaged less than 30 in the last four series: that's 14 Tests. He had his chance to announce his retirement along with Ganguly with whom he had started his career at Lord's. Now, in all fairness, he should be dropped because over the past year or two Ganguly's performance had in fact been better than Dravid's. In any case, with the available talent - Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Badrinath, Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay - there is no reason to continue to wait and hope that Dravid comes out of his slump. He should be asked to try and do that in domestic cricket.

'BCCI has nothing to do with players' retirement'

Rahul Dravid maybe struggling to get runs but BCCI today refused to put a time-line for his retirement, saying it is up to the batsman to decide when to hang up his boots.

Rajiv Shukla, Chairman of the BCCI Finance Committee, said the decision of retirement is best left to the players and the board has nothing to do with that.

"Rahul is a talented, quality batsman. The decision of how long he should play or when he should retire, is up to him only. BCCI has nothing to do with that. It is for the player to decide how long he wants to play," Shukla said.

Talking about former captains Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, Shukla felt though it would not be possible to fill their void overnight, India still had a good pool of talented players who can step in their shoes.

" Sourav Ganguly and Kumble were great players and their retirement is a great loss for Indian cricket. Youngsters will have to do extremely well to reach to that level.

"Having said that, we have good replacements in Amit Mishra, Virat Kohli, Pragyan Ojha and Piyush Chawla, who are doing quite well," he said.

Shukla, who was in the city to oversee the preparations for the India-England one-day match at Green Park stadium on November 20, said the state government was co-operating with the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association in conducting the match.

Much was made out of our relationship: Chappell

So what did they chat during this meeting at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on October 8.9?. Mind you, that was the day after Sourav Ganguly announced his retirement from international cricket. Sourav Ganguly had stated in recent interviews that the former coach had in fact congratulated him on his retirement.

So what does Greg Chappell have to say about that meeting? The former India coach has said that he indeed greeted Sourav Ganguly whose relationship with the former captain is now the part of Indian cricket’s folklore.

"I congratulated him on his retirement." Chappell told, the day after Ganguly took the final bow from international cricket.

Chappell then provided more insight into that widely-photographed meeting. "I had a good chat with Sourav in Bangalore and congratulated him on his career and wished him well for the future."

The main thing about the whole retirement, Chappell said, was that Ganguly went out the way he chose. "I was pleased that he was able to go out on his own terms," he said expressing happiness for his one-time ward.

Chappell, who was with the Australian team till the second Test in Mohali, has followed the Test series.

"I’m happy that Sourav Ganguly's final series went so well. He deserved it for what he has given to cricket in India."

On the key issue of their relationship, Chappell virtually agreed with what Dada has already spoken on the topic. "It is sad that so much was made of our relationship in the media but I am pleased that we have had the chance to have a personal chat."

Sourav Ganguly recently said that the Australian was misguided by some people and he held no grudges against the former coach. "We are on good terms," Chappell observed. The former coach, however, was unwilling to make any comments on the India-Australia series which the hosts won 2-0.

End of an era as Ganguly walks into sunset

Sourav Ganguly on Monday bid farewell to international cricket amid emotional scenes with more than 18,000 runs under his belt and leaving a rich legacy for the posterity at the end of a 16-year controversy-marred tumultuous career.

In between his century in the debut Test in 1992 and the Bradmanesque exit for a duck in the final innings, Ganguly's has been an unputdownable story with umpteen twists and turns and in the end of it all, the 'God on the off-side' walked out with his head held high.

His retirement, topping Anil Kumble's exit after the third Test, was timed with the same precision that has been the hallmark of his batting. With the departure of these two, three of the 'Fab Five' -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, will still continue to don the Test cap for India.

Whether the controversial soccer-style shirt waving from the Lord's balcony or the easy-going manner that got him a sobriquet 'Lord Snooty', Ganguly had his own style that also often him in controversies.

His brush with new coach Greg Chappell got him out of the team and he also picked up a fight with his mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya only to make up with him later. He staged a come back into the national team after cooling his heels for nine months.

In the midst of media speculation over the 'Fab Five', Ganguly also hit back saying he knew when to go but when the actual announcement of his retirement came before the start of the series, it did come as a surprise to many. He will now play in the Indian Premier League -- domestic cricket with internationals stars.

In an era dominated by Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, Ganguly was also one of the best batsman around, both statistically and aesthetically. Each of the 18,000-plus runs he scored, mostly piercing the off-side, showed he knew how to put the bat to the ball.

Dhoni's farewell gestures for Ganguly, Kumble

In an extraordinary gesture that reflects the camaraderie in the Indian cricket team, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday invited Sourav Ganguly to lead the team for some time as India was closing in on Australia to win the fourth Test and the series here on Monday.

On his last day on the field as an international cricketer, Ganguly, country's most successful captain, led the side for a few overs when the last Australian pair was at the wicket.

In another gesture to a former captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni invited Anil Kumble to jointly receive with him the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Kumble was the Indian captain at the start of the series but a shoulder shoulder injury which he sustained in the first Test in Bangalore saw him skipping the Mohali Test which India won under Dhoni.

Though Kumble returned to the side for the third Test in Delhi, he sustained a finger injury which necessitated 11 stitches and the veteran spinner surprised all by announcing his retirement on the final day of the drawn Test.

Ganguly got a rousing reception on his final appearance for the Indian side as teammates lined up when the former captain entered the ground for the last time.

After the match, all his teammates came forward to shake hands with Ganguly before Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman lifted him.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting too came to shake hands with Ganguly, as did all other members of the visiting side.