Sourav Ganguly always a surprise, says brother Snehasish

Former Bengal batsman Snehasish Ganguly feels his younger brother and former India captain Sourav is all about new ideas and innovations.

Sourav Ganguly at Eden Gardens before the start of the second Test between India and Bangladesh.

Sourav Ganguly wouldn’t be a cricketer if not backed by elder brother Snehasish. The former India captain started batting left-handed so that he could use his brother’s gear. As the pink ball Test started rolling under the floodlights on Friday, the senior Ganguly stood at one corner admiring the sound and revelry.

Talking to  Sportstar , the former Bengal batsman — who is a front-runner for the secretary’s post in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) — said, “When it was decided that there will be a day-night Test, that time we thought we have to bring in school children with food packets to fill the stands. This gathering was initially not expected. This is the speciality of Kolkata, people here are open to new things. The entire city has been painted pink, right from here to Park Street.”

READ | How the pink ball behaved, noon to onset of floodlight

The day started with 40,000 people in the stands. By evening, close to 60,000 were in attendance.

Having grown up with Sourav, the 54-year-old is not surprised how his younger brother is handling the role of an administrator. “We had started playing cricket together [for Bengal]. As far as I know Sourav, he is always a surprise. He has always been like that. He will remain a surprise. Right from the time of his debut to India captaincy to being the president of CAB and now BCCI, it has been a great journey for him. His achievements are unparalleled,” he said.

Snehasish gave full marks to Sourav for staging India’s maiden pink ball day-night Test. “He is all about new ideas and new innovations. Even with Bengal, he put in a lot of thought to introduce pink ball cricket in the club structure. The current players are getting a lot of facilities and the infrastructure has developed. 

"Pink ball cricket has already happened in Bengal which was unthinkable. He is the perfect choice for the BCCI president. If he sticks around, lot of good things will happen in Indian cricket,” said Snehasish.

If Snehasish becomes the CAB secretary, he, along with treasurer Debasish Ganguly, will form the first uncle-nephew pair in the CAB.