'I've Decided To Quit'

It should not have been a surprise. It had been widely -- and wildly --speculated about. But it still caught almost everyone unawares when SouravGanguly, at the end of whatappeared to be a routine press-conference, almost casually said:

"Before I leave, I have to make an announcement. This is going to be my last series. I have decided to quit. These four Tests are going to be my last. I have spoken to my teammates that these four Tests would be my last matches. Thanks for all the support, hopefully I will go out on a winning note."

Incidentally, the selection committee has so far only announced the team forthe first two of these four Test matches.

The stylish left-hander, who celebrated his 36th birthday on July 8, is aveteran of 109 Test matches in which he has made 6,888 runs in 180 innings at anaverage of 41.74 with 15 centuries and 34 half-centuries, 239 being his highest.

In 311 One Day Internationals, he has scored 11,363 runs in 300 innings at anaverage of 41.02, with 22 centuries and 72 half-centuries.

Overall the fifth-highest run-getter for India, he is only the seventhbatsmen in the world to cross the 10,000-run mark in one-day internationals.And, if we could add almost as an incidental by-the-way, almost as apost-script: heled India to 21 wins in 49 Tests.

He has been in and out of the team after he lost the Indian captaincy in 2005following a spat with the then coach Greg Chappell. 

Whilehe made a stunning comeback in 2006 to the Indian side, he was dropped onceagain from the one-day team during the England tour in 2007 and eversince had failed to make a serious comeback. 

Earlier, speculation had been rife in repeated media reports that the BCCIwanted the senior players to voluntarily reveal their retirement plans. When hisname was finally announced in the team for the first two Test matches, there hadbeen loud murmurs that a quid pro quo had been worked out.

All the seniors, including Ganguly have, however, denied any such intimationfrom the BCCI.

Dilip Vengsarkar, the former chairman of national selectors, who was responsible for resurrecting Ganguly's floundering career in early2006, after the Bengal stalwart's spat with then India coach Greg Chappell had resulted in him losing not only his captaincy but also his place in the national squad,summed it up thus: "Ganguly had a superb career as a cricketer. He was an outstanding captain and a great player. I suppose all great careers have to end at some time or the other. Probably the fact that he had to play for India A following his selection in the Test team might have triggered the decisionto quit."

Vengsarkar said there was no doubt about the 36-year- old Ganguly's class when he was dropped for the Irani Cup tie but there were concerns only about his motivation level.Ganguly, already out of the ODI team, was not picked for the Rest of India squad against Delhi for the September 24-28 tie at Vadodara by Vengsarkar and his co-selectors, putting a huge question mark about his future.

But the new panel, headed by Krish Srikkanth and appointed at the Cricket Board's AGM on September 27, recalled Ganguly for the first two Tests against Australia.This is whatSrikkanth was willing to share: "He had a chat with me and NarendraHirwani (a co-selector). He probably feels it's time for him. Every now and thenthe axe was on him and he said 'Chika' let me play without any pressure onme." Srikanth perhaps spoke for all Ganguly fans when he added: "Ipray he scores a lot of runs in the series and India wins. A guy like SouravGanguly deserves it because he has done a lot for this country."

No one would disagree. Not even former captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who isotherwise a trenchant critic. According to him, it is not a time to feel sad but tocelebrate because Ganguly deserves a grand farewell. "His contribution hasbeen enormous. A great Indian cricketer, a legend has hung up his boots. I hopehe has done it on his own terms," Bedi said.

Another former skipper Kapil Dev welcomed Ganguly's decision but felt nobodyshould put pressure on senior players to quit. Former chief selector KiranMore, who shared a stormy relationship with Ganguly, said it was a big decisionby the left-hander. "He has done a fantastic job for the country. Heprobably wanted to go on a high and it was a good opportunity againstAustralia," More said.

Right Time To Go
For his part, though, Ganguly has denied that he was nudged by the Board toannounce his retirement. He asserted he was quitting on his own terms and thereis nothing like Voluntary Retirement Scheme in sports and more so to playerslike him and other stalwarts like Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.

"I don't think it's ever possible that anybody can offer you a VRS insports," he said. "You cannot do that to players like (Anil) Kumble, (Rahul)Dravid, (VVS) Laxman, Sachin (Tendulkar) or anyone..What is important is whatyou get to know from the Board (BCCI) and as far as I, and some of the seniorplayers, are concerned, we have not received any intimation from the Board onanything," he added.

He said he did not expect to be in the India squad for the Test seriesagainst Australia after being ignored for the Irani Trophy and added that he wasnot ready to wait to know his future from selectors before every series.

"To be honest, I didn't expect to be picked for this series. But once Iwas chosen, I started preparing. Even when I was left out of the Rest of Indiasquad, which was a bit of a surprise for me, I was still training with theBengal boys.

"It had become just one series at a time. There was so much pressure andscrutiny every time you step out. So this is the right time to go. It is not asudden or abrupt decision."

"This is a very difficult and energy-consuming decision for anyplayer," he said of his decision to quit after the Australia series.

One Down, Three To Go
Meanwhile, former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin said he was surprised by theannouncement. "I am really surprised to hear this. He was the top performeragainst Pakistan some time ago ... I really feel he had a few years of cricketleft in him. But perhaps it's the player who knows himself best."

Azharuddin added that perhaps it was the media speculation which did Ganguly in."These days it's very different. You miss a catch and there will be reamswritten about you. It's good but after a point it makes you down morally. Itcould be one of the reasons. But I know Ganguly as one of the most resoluteplayers. His elegance as a batsman is of high class. At one point of time heused to be called the God on off-side. I am sure everybody will miss the BengalTiger. His contribution had been immense to international cricket."

Recalling the best knocks of Ganguly, Azharuddin picked out the Lord's debut inthe summer of 1996. "He had a bad outing in the ODIs and I was the captainwhen we lost to the West Indies in 1992. But he came back strong and the way hebatted at the Lord's during his 131 knock never did we ever think that it washis first Test. Such was his elegance.

"He has some great ODI knocks as well. I recollect the Taunton ODI againstSri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup where he made 183 with Rahul Dravid notching up145. I really remember that great ODI. He has some 11,000-plus ODI runs to hiscredit. He was a batsman of pure class."

Who could disagree with that? Rahul Dravid had memorably said once, "on the off side there's God, then there'sSaurav." But more than his stylish off-side play, it was for his aggressivecaptaincy that he would be remembered the most. He was perhaps the first Indiancaptain who was not parochial, as Ram Guha once pointed out. He followed his ownunconventional methods of leading the team and was successful in creating a winning unit from a bunch of talented cricketers. He supported his players to the hilt and they responded by giving their best for their captain on the field.

Azharuddin feels that Ganguly's announcement will "also have a negative impact on the home series againstAustralia" and now that his bete noire Greg Chappell is back to guide theAustralians on this tour, it would be fascinating to see how Ganguly, a pastmaster at playing mind-games and getting under his opponents' skin, would copewith the Aussies. 

But Azharuddin, incidentally, also articulated the obvious: "Pressure has always been onthe seniors with media pitting them against youngsters after one bad series, ashappened after Sri Lanka. Now it will be more since Sourav has made thebeginning (to announce his retirement). It will affect the mindset of otherseniors (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman)."

Clearly, with Ganguly announcing his retirement, the countdown has begun forthe end of an era, the era of four of India's greatest batsmen ever to haveplayed together. The era of the Fab Four.