Sourav Ganguly is one of India's greatest-ever captains having led the national team in both Test and ODI cricket for more than five years. After taking charge of the team post the change of the millenium in 2000, he led India till 2005 before Rahul Dravid replaced him in the role.
Ganguly's tenure saw the destiny of Indian cricket team as they overcame the dark days of the match-fixing saga. In his tenure, India reached the final of the 2002 Champions Trophy and 2003 World Cup while famously winning the 2002 Natwest series. There was incredible success in the longest format of the game as India won a Test series in Pakistan for the first time in history while drawing a series both in England and Australia.
Ganguly's legacy goes far beyond just the results on the pitch as he is credited for building a solid core that served Indian cricket for more than a decade. It was under the ex-BCCI President's captaincy that the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Virender Sehwag, and Harbhajan Singh established their place in the team.
Such was Ganguly's stature as a leader that he naturally shared a great bond with the entire squad as both senior and junior players were close to him. One instance that exhibited how close-knit the Ganguly-led Indian team were was when the team decided to play a prank on the 2003 World Cup finalist captain after which he was ready to leave captaincy.
How Sachin Led 'April Fool' Prank Against Ganguly
Ganguly revealed that while India was playing a series against Pakistan, the team decided to play a prank on him on 'April Fool's Day' (1st April). Led by Sachin Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh, the Indian team told Ganguly that they were upset by his remarks to the media. As the team pretended to revolt against him, Ganguly claimed he told the team he was ready to quit captaincy.
"I was a little disappointed because I wasn't scoring runs. As I entered the dressing room, the team members got together led by Sachin (Tendulkar) and Harbhajan Singh and were saying that they are very disappointed with what I said about the team in the media. I said, what did I say — I was very sensitive at the time. They said that there were reports in the newspapers that you were not happy with the way the team has played," said Ganguly in an interaction with Uncademy a few years back.
"I said if you guys feel that I will get upset about (the team not playing well) and I did something wrong, I am ready to resign today and I am ready for somebody else to take the captaincy. I said that and went and sat on my chair. Couple of minutes went away and I saw everybody jumping with laughter. I was really upset then and a little bit shocked at what I had just heard from the team. And then Harbhajan jumped up and said April Fool," Ganguly added.
How Prank Helped Ganguly Recover Form
Ganguly claimed that the prank showed that the team cared about him amid a poor run of form. The former India captain stated that the incident helped him as he found runs again in the matches that followed.
"That I think worked well for me because I went and played well in the series. It just showed me how much my players cared. I wasn't scoring runs and they wanted me to feel good and believe that they will be there for me in my difficult times. It really opened me up," said Ganguly.