Sachin Tendulkar Reveals Why He Recommended Sourav Ganguly For Vice-Captaincy

As the former Indian captain and the current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly turns 50 on Friday, his "opening partner" and closest cricketing pal Sachin Tendulkar made several revelations about their relationship and how he suggested Ganguly's name to management for the vice-captaincy role.

The legendary batter, who was appointed the captain of Team India after the 1999 World Cup, saw the team going through some tough times, including a match-fixing saga and dreadful on-field performances. 

However, after a disappointing Australia tour, followed by the team's home series loss against South Africa, the Master Blaster came under immense pressure, which saw him stepping down from the captaincy role. 

Following Tendulkar's decision to step down from the role, Anil Kumble was the frontrunner to lead the side. However, Sourav Ganguly took up the role and donned it with utmost responsibility. 

Meanwhile, Tendulkar revealed the reason behind proposing Sourav Ganguly's name to the administration for India's vice-captaincy before the 1999 tour of Australia, asserting that the current BCCI president had the traits to take Indian cricket forward. 

"Before stepping down, during India's tour of Australia in which I was the captain, I had suggested Sourav to be made the vice-captain of the team," Tendulkar revealed in an interview to PTI.

"I had seen him from close quarters, played cricket with him, and knew he had the right qualities to take Indian cricket forward. He was a good leader. I, therefore, recommended his name," Master Blaster added.  

Recalling when Ganguly was appointed as the captain, Tendulkar said that Indian Cricket was in a transition stage and required the next generation of players to set a platform for team India going forward. He also said Ganguly nurtured many world-class players and helped them cement their place in the team. 

"Sourav was a great captain. He knew how to maintain a balance - between giving freedom to the players and giving them certain responsibilities," said Tendulkar.

"When he took over, Indian cricket was in a transition phase. We needed the next bunch of players who could set a platform for propelling India forward." 

Sourav Ganguly, regarded as one of the best captains of India, led the team to 21 Test wins in 49 matches, and 76 ODI wins in 146 matches. He also led the Indian team to a NatWest tri-series win in England in 2002. 

Talking about his numbers, the former India captain played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for India, where he accumulated 7212 and 11363 runs, respectively.