A Warrior Prince indeed !!

He looked up at the sky....admiring the fireworks...lowered his gaze and looked around....soaking in the euphoria and the enormity of the moment....and then a sigh...

One can feel his thoughts returning to a similar battlefield,8 years ago,where his dream was shattered by a few marauders in yellow...the Maharaj and his army in blue were humbled....but that was history now and this is present and nobody knows better than him that people have short lived memories. He was happy of course,Team India had done what every Indian has been waiting for since 1983. Hardly anyone rushed to congratulate him....nobody dedicated this victory to him.....only one person was the cynosure of all eyes there and once more the architect,the real man behind this whole era was pushed into the background and he chose to remain there.

                      Sourav Ganguly....DADA for me and for all his fans over the world....would have loved to hold that coveted trophy in his hands 8 years ago  but couldn’t and nobody even thought about calling up this man and let him feel it with his battle scarred hands....because if there was anybody who deserved  this for India,then it was this man. Only a true champ can understand another....how true....no wonder the great Kapil Dev gave credit to DADA for what Team India is today . But then isn’t life been like this for this lion hearted warrior all these years??  Being dropped after just a single game and then spending 4 years in wilderness,DADA made a sensational comeback in 1996 and then he never looked back. The defining moment of his career came when he was handed the reins of the Indian team which was under fire due to match fixing controversies. It was a gamble but it paid off...DADA converted this subdued unit into a bunch of fearless fighters who  didn’t have look far beyond than their leader for inspiration. He infused a new life into the team by bringing in talented youngsters,groomed them and instilled confidence in the team. 

Result?....India started winning matches...not just at home but abroad as well. He just followed his instincts,never cared to be in the good books of the administrators and cared only about winning matches. His aggression rubbed on to his teammates and the new era of Indian cricket dawned. A born leader,his captaincy never affected his performance though it did,to a small extent towards the later part of his tenure. The administrators,whose egos were deflated by DADA’s care-for-hell attitude tried their best to make life difficult for him....and they did....the last nail being the Greg chappell episode. DADA was dropped...only to make the mother of all comebacks a couple of years later. It was impossible to keep the phoenix in the ashes....it rises eventually. Still...after all this he was forced to retire from the test arena too,being already out of reckoning for the ODIs. He didnt make much fuss about it. He bowed out against his favourite opponents,Australia and in the last test he made an 85 in the first innings. He did a Bradman in the last innings of his test cricket career...the walk back was long and he looked up at the sky... realising the fact that he wont ever walk out in whites to bat for India again. 

                      DADA did come back to play for his beloved city,Kolkata in the IPL....leading the Knight Riders and though he led admirably and played out of his skin for the 3 seasons he was snubbed again during the IPL4 auctions....the backstabbing continued !! 

And when everybody thought they had seen the MAHARAJ for last time on the field,he did what he does best.....make a comeback again !!!! the name was fitting.....WARRIORS....PUNE “ WARRIORS INDIA”

....apt for the WARRIOR prince...and even if he performs miserably or admirably....we will remember DADA for his commitment,selflessness and and for coming back again and again like the sea waves... on to the sands of excellence...it has been a sheer privilege to be born in this era...DADA’s era.