New Delhi: Perfect timing has been the hallmark of Sourav Ganguly's batting and the stylish left-hander chose the right time to call it quits, believe former players.
Former captain Bishan Singh Bedi, a bitter Ganguly critic at some point, on Tuesday hailed the left-hander, calling him a 'legend' of the game. Continue reading below
"I would like to celebrate his retirement, rather than mourn it because of his enormous contribution to Indian cricket. A great player, a legend of the game has hung up his boots and we all should celebrate his contribution," Bedi said.
"I'm not surprised since such a possibility was doing the rounds. It looked very much on the cards. I think he thus became a forerunner among the senior players and I hope he went on his own terms," he added.
The spin legend, however, appealed to all to treat senior players with lot more respect.
"We've to deal with them with lot more compassion and respect. Players like Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman are great cricketers and should not be ridiculed," he said.
Chief selector K Srikkanth said Ganguly had spoken to him and fellow selector Narendra Hirwani before announcing his retirement.
"We had a chat with him and he felt it was his time (to go). Every now and then, the axe was on him and he said, 'Chika, let me play once without any pressure.' I pray he scores a lot of runs against Australia and India win the series. Because guys like Sourav Ganguly deserve to go out on a winning note," Srikkanth said.
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Former Test cricketers Chandu Borde and Bapu Nadkarni said Ganguly must have taken his retirement decision after a lot of thought.
"Frankly it did not come as a surprise to me. He's a thinking cricketer. These cricketers know their bodies well. He must have thought deep and consulted people whom he trusts and then decided," Borde told PTI.
Borde recalled that it was the selection committee headed by him which made Ganguly the skipper of the national team when Sachin Tendulkar decided to suddenly abdicate the throne at the end of the Test series against South Africa in 2000.
Borde did not think the decision to retire by Ganguly, India's most successful Test captain, would influence the other senior team members to follow suit in the immediate future.
"It's up to the other senior players now. All these talks about retirement plans of these players are the creation of the media. They are all mature individuals and capable of taking decisions on their own," he emphasised.
Nadkarni supported Borde by saying the decision on when to retire should be left to the concerned individual.
"Personally I felt Ganguly had two more years of cricket in him. He did fail in Sri Lanka but so too did the others (Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman). Probably he felt he would be thrown out and wanted to go out on his own terms," the former left-arm spinner said.
