Among debates if Twenty-Twenty has ruined the true essence of cricket, a legendary cricketer and the former captain of Indian cricket team, Sourav Ganguly launched his book ‘A Century Is Not Enough’ at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on Monday evening. It was the same ground where ‘Dada’, took his shirt off and waved it from the balcony, following India’s memorable victory in the Natwest Trophy final against England in 2002, which has remained etched in the memories of fans to date.
Ganguly’s latest book that was launched among 150 people on Monday, is not a biography, but a book on events, incidents, experiences and stories in Ganguly’s journey as a cricketer, as he remembers them. “This is not an autobiography,” said Ganguly. “I don’t know if an autobiography will ever happen. But this book is about challenges, what goes behind, even when you are doing well.
“I never wrote when I played. So I did not make any written records. Hence, I had to write this book from my thoughts and it took me a year.”
The event was compered in his ‘own style’ by Harsha Bhogle, the Indian commentator, which included an hour of panel discussion about the future of cricket in England and India, and how the two worlds of Test and T20 are converging in modern age.
The panelists included Michael Atherton, the former England captain and cricketer, Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka team captain, Sourav Ganguly, Mike Gatting OBE, former England captain and cricketer and Lord Jeffrey Archer.
Speaking about the beauty of Test cricket Kumar Sangakkara said he believed, there is still great love for Test cricket among cricketers and emphasised that cricket and its popularity is an example of what sports should be.
Adding that Test cricket should be re-invented, Ganguly said, “People today can rarely spend days watching a cricket match. So I understand why a Day-Night match may be more popular than Test.” He explained how the change in trend is not just because of a generation’s choice but due to the need to stay relevant.
According to a recent book by Abhirup Bhattacharya, it was mentioned how Sourav Ganguly's decision to give chances to talented youngsters waiting for the opportunity, helped India from losing one of its greatest cricketers of all times, M S Dhoni.
Ganguly is also credited for nurturing players such as Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sewag, Harbhajan Singh and creating the concept of 'Team India' and 'Men in Blue'.
The legend who completed 46 years on Sunday, cut a cake to celebrate his birthday among the guests at Lord’s, which was organised by Satadru Datta, in association with London Sharad Utsav.
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Sourav Ganguly, Mike Gatting, Michael Atherton, Kumar Sangakkara and Lord Jeffrey Archer
