In 2005 Dada Offered To Resign From Captaincy After His Teammates Played A Prank On Him

I don’t think Dada needs any introduction or would need anyone to testify for his potential as the game’s icon. For someone with even a little knowledge of cricket, would have heard Sourav Ganguly’s name at least once. Knowing one, he’s not the one to bow down to challenges and certainly not the one to let people come in the way of his methods.

But one time he did. That too, when the whole Indian team played a prank on the former skipper.

The year was 2005.

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Ganguly walked into the dressing room for a customary team meeting to discuss strategies and tactics before the opener against Pakistan in Kochi. But, he was stunned to see pin-drop silence upon his entrance. Little did he know that he would get the shock of his life moments later.

 

Apparently, the prank mastermind was none other than Yuvraj Singh who had already earned a reputation of being the biggest prankster in the dressing room.

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He led a team of ‘angry’ cricketers saying that ‘The Prince Of Calcutta’ had made snide comments on some of the players in the team. Dada was shown the newspaper which was fabricated overnight.

 

The prank did not end there.

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Unable to decipher what was happening, he looked on as Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag handed a sheet of paper to the team manager, Wing Commander M. Baladitya who read out the news. Bhajji and Nehra added a dramatic twist and stormed out of the room.

 

Claiming innocence, Ganguly even offered to resign from captaincy.

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This is what he said:

‘I almost had tears in my eyes. These were the same players I had always fought for. I didn’t know why they were suddenly saying all these things.’

 

Unable to see his desperation, Rahul Dravid blurted out:

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Yes, it was just an April Fool prank.

 

Dada picked up a bat and chased all of them out of the dressing room.

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Later he was handed another sheet of paper signed by everyone which read, ‘Dada, we all love you.’

How can you ever stop loving your teacher, and above all, someone who showed them the potential and helped in fulfilling it?

This incident revealed a group of cricketers enjoying each other’s company in this tense world of sports. But the best part was that he came to know how much his teammates love him.

What goes inside a cricket dressing room remains inside the dressing room? Not always.

Source: Sportskeeda

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