Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain talks about his rapid rise in international cricket and lists the five most difficult bowlers he has faced in his career and also his five most admired batsmen.
Q: Sourav, how do you handle criticism?
A: What kind of criticism are we talking about here! Are we talking about constructive criticism, or are we talking about downright insults and slander. If it is the former, I will gladly take it and so will my team mates, but the insults and sarcastic comments… they are too much to digest.
Q: So, you do get hurt…
A: Of course we all do. Aren’t we supposed to be human beings as well!
Q: Talking about you personally, yours has been a rapid rise in cricket after 1996. What are the factors that contributed to that?
A: More than any thing else, I would say I am mentally very tough. I can get knocked down, but I will get up and fight again. And if you are not mentally tough, don’t play cricket, especially in India. We are just witnessing what is happening. You have to be very, very tough mentally to survive. I think I am tough.
Q: Can you list for our readers the five toughest bowlers you have faced and the five best batsmen in international cricket at the moment?
A: Oh, difficult one, but let me try. We’ll start with the bowlers.
**Wasim Akram: The greatest left-arm swing bowler of all time, perhaps. Can make life very miserable for a batsman if he is in his zone.
Glenn McGrath: His consistency is amazing. Very difficult to hit him.
Shane Warne: Champion spinner, a great bowler. Has a very big heart and that’s his biggest plus.
Zaheer Khan: My India team mate has improved by leaps and bounds. He has a deadly yorker and with his new found consistency, he can be more than handy.
Shoaib Akhtar: The Pakistani’s pace can run through many a batting line-up. He can knock stumps back with sheer speed.** :k: :k:
**And now the batsmen.
Sachin Tendulkar: My team mate will be in the list of everyone. Do I need to say anything about him!
Brian Lara: The left-hander is a destructive bat and on his day, he doesn’t need anyone to win the match for his team. He will do it alone.
Steve Waugh: Much was made out of the so-called rivalry between me and Steve but I respect him enormously. One of the all-time greats.
Michael Vaughan: He never ceases to impress me. The way he is batting, he will become the number one batsman in the world very soon.
Matthew Hayden: Amazingly consistent. Powerful hitter of the ball, loves to dominate and goes for big hundreds. **
Sourav Ganguly spoke to Tapan Joshi in Durban during the 2003 World Cup
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