Arriving in Bangladesh, Sourav recalls his earlier experiences

Sourav Ganguly has come to Dhaka for a bank event in India. Then Maharaj of Kolkata attended the opening ceremony of the Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor’s Cup. His relationship with the history of Bangladesh cricket is closely related. Joining the event, Sourav’s voice also burst out with memories of those days. The former captain of  Team India and former president of BCCI reminisced about his memories by stepping foot in Dhaka.

22 long years ago. Cricket lovers should not forget the historic test match between Bangladesh and India. It was Sourav’s first Test as India’s captain. It was also Bangladesh’s debut Test. Sourav can’t forget that day even after so many days. Coming to the Mayor’s Cup opening ceremony, Sourav also remembered that time with the microphone.

Sourav said, “My relationship with Bangladesh cricket is different. My name will always be associated with the cricket history of this country. I have many memories here. My first Test captaincy was in Bangladesh. And that was Bangladesh’s first Test match. I still remember that there was no stadium then. At that time, the game was played at the old Bangabandhu Stadium. Bangladesh took the lead in the first innings. When I went into the dressing room at the end of the innings, I thought, I will lose my first Test as captain! But, later on, we won the Test.”

Sourav was also moved by India’s memorable ODI win against Pakistan. He said, “I still remember the match against Pakistan. We won the Independent Cup final with a target of 315 runs. At that time, 315 runs were a big deal. And the floodlights of the Bangabandhu Stadium were not so bright. So the match was played under the light of football, and in the end, we defeated Pakistan. 

Sourav also understood that the people of Bangladesh love cricket. He said, “As far as I can remember, I came to Bangladesh for the first time in 1989. I came to play in the Asia Cup with the under-19 team. And since then, I have had a relationship with this country. After that, the last tour in this country was the T-20 World Cup. And in the final World Cup, we lost to Sri Lanka.”

Sourav’s relationship with the people of Bangladesh is different. The love of Bengalis in Bangladesh for this Bengali cricketer from West Bengal, India, is no less. Sourav said in this context, “Every time I come to Bangladesh, I like it. The people of this country are wonderful. I get to love; love means genuine love. And what I like the most is that the gallery becomes full whenever a game is played. This shows how much the people of Bangladesh love the game.”

It should be noted that the former Indian captain and former BCCI chief did not take any money to come to the opening ceremony of the Mayor’s Cup. Appreciating the Mayor’s Cup, Sourav said, “I thank the honourable mayor for taking such a good initiative. Drugs are not the solution to any problem; the solution is to play sports. I want to tell the children to stay involved in sports, study, and play music along with education. There is no alternative to these to build a drug-free society”. On this day, the organizers announced Sourav as the goodwill ambassador of the Mayor’s Cup.