Oh captain, my captain!

"I don't think he saw the ball properly. He seemed to have tears in his eyes"

This is what Eric Collies had to say after castling the Don for a duck in his final innings. I am not sure as to whether Dada had tears in his eyes when he went out to bat for the final time in international cricket, but I am sure that the eyes of his plentiful fans certainly were moist. Before I start showering the plaudits on Ganguly, I want to put a few things straight. Let me make it abundantly clear that I’m not a Dada fan. Never was, never will be. I find him clumsy, arrogant and to an extent stubborn headed. I am a Sehwag fan and a Dhoni fan. I don't think Ganguly is the best batsman India has produced, Dravid or Sachin is. The most talented? No, Yuvraj is. The best captain? I would have said yes two days backs, but now I am not quite sure.

But time and again during his 13 year international career, he has made me stand up and take note of him and now if I had to list cricketers whom I respect the most, Dada would top that list. No second thoughts about that! Whether it was fighting fire with fire, when it came to the Australians or if it was stepping down the order in the best interest of the team, so that record craving midgets were not dissatisfied, he won my respect. I can only imagine the ignominy he had to go through when asked to play Ranji cricket under Deep Das Gupta. But yet again, he showed tremendous mental fortitude and staged a fairy tale comeback. His grit and mental strength is according to me his biggest asset. And as write this article I happen to have a lump down my throat and that I think is biggest tribute I can pay to our Dada!