Top order: his privilege

Gaurav Kanthwal

Almost 10 years after his retirement from Test cricket, Sourav Ganguly continues to whip up the same passion among his fans as he used to do in his heydays. Dada, as he is popularly known as, is a quintessential Bengali who has an opinion on everything, and he never shies away from expressing it. 

His on-field antics are known to everyone, off-field too. Ganguly is one of the few cricketers who command an impressive brand value even after hanging up his boots. While sobriquets like Bengal Tiger, Bengal Pride, Maharaj, God of off-side, etc. defined him in his innings as an international cricketer or a captain, he enjoys the same recognition after retirement too. 

Presently, he is the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. He is also a member of multiple cricket committees of the  BCCI. He has penned books, hosted reality TV shows, featured in advertisements and performed the role of an expert-commentator. Given his ambitious nature, it is expected that the former India captain will sooner or later aspire for the throne of the BCCI president.  He is being touted as the next in line to become India’s head coach. 

Ganguly provides fodder to journalists, authors and TV producers. Abhirup Bhattacharya, a fashion designer and an MBA in finance, takes the bait and ends up biting off more than he can chew. Winning like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly is his second book on the life of a cricketer; the first was on Virat Kohli.

It is a half-hearted attempt that skims the surface. His transpositions of Ganguly's leadership qualities in business environment are unconvincing as well.