Top 125 Quotes & Sayings by Sourav Ganguly - Page 2

I have got lot of faith in Virat Kohli. Whatever I've seen of him from the ground or TV, it gives me a lot of confidence.

India, Pakistan series has always been decided by the government. We toured in 2003-04 when I was the captain and it was for the first time since 1989-90 that we toured Pakistan. There were times even in those days when the series was planned but would get cancelled. So you have to leave it to the government.

You don't want to turn up like a Nepal or an Ireland where the entire world thinks that you're not going to win. You rather turn up like an India or an Australia or an England where everybody says this team is going to win the World Cup.

When I go around in Kolkata, I do not get hassled.

I was inspired by the way the Aussies played their cricket. It was no-holds barred. They played to win.

Kohli is a flag bearer of Indian cricket.

Look, I was the captain of India for five years. I was one of the stars, a popular face in India.

Look at Virat Kohli, he is such a fantastic role model. India is a fortunate country. Every generation produces players who all of us cherish.

I was at the Wimbledon some time back and I saw Roger Federer play.

Ball-tampering has happened before. Bowlers and fielders have found different ways to get the ball roughened up on one side.

No matter what, Test cricket will survive. I've always said Twenty20 would be popular but there will be a place for Test cricket.

You can call it my bias or love for Harbhajan but if you are picking three best spinners in the country, he's got to be among them. Harbhajan is one bowler who should be playing all three formats of the game.

When I first became captain of the Indian cricket team in 2000, many well-wishers and journalist friends gifted me the classic Mike Brearley book, 'The Art of Captaincy.' I mean no disrespect to the book or Mr, Brearley, who I admire a great deal, but books or team meetings don't make you good captains.

A life of a sportsperson is approximately 14-15 years long and fatigue will be a part of it, but they have to manage that.

When I was captain, John Wright was making all the decisions and I followed like an obedient student.

The moment a spinner gets turn he becomes dangerous.

We Indians react under pressure.

The most important thing in IPL is to select the players. You don't get much time to develop a team so it's important to pick the right players.

My captaincy model was characterised by two distinctive pillars. Proper identification of talent and then ensuring the young finds play fearless cricket.

Ravindra Jadeja should not be in the World Cup team.

I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. He is a captain who always wants to win matches on the field and I love that passion in him.

One of my favourite sportsmen was Diego Maradona and every time I saw him play football you could see the passion in the heart.

I have many, many fond memories of Yuvraj Singh. He started under my captaincy.

Age is never a factor if talent is there.

Twenty20 is must for cricket. Without T20, cricket cannot survive.

My first trip as a captain against Pakistan in 2003 - we had never won there before, but then we won both the Test Matches and One-Days.

I didn't play an ODI game for 15 months when I was probably the best performer in one-day cricket. It happens in life. The best in the world are at times shown the door.

Pakistan always play well in England.

You have just got to live life and let others live.

There's one must in life: whatever job you do, wherever you are, whatever age you have, how much experience you have, you have to keep performing at the top level otherwise someone else will take your place.

Wrist spinners have been successful in world cricket. Look at Shane Warne.

I really liked the biopic of Milkha Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

You can't be chasing 338 and still have 5 wickets in the end. It's about mindset and the way you look at the game.

The battle to win - on the pitch and in the boardroom - begins and ends in one's head.

I am a very quiet person off the field, very laidback like a lot of Bengalis.

Playing on the field is different from providing inputs sitting in the dugout.

My memories of playing against Pakistan have been happy times for India.

In your journey to the tag of winning-at-all-costs you can still behave, you can still do the right things by not crossing the line. Lot of champions have done it. Look at Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh.

A strong India is very, very important for world cricket.

Kohli is the greatest chaser by far and I am saying this keeping in mind the great man Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin was special but as far as chasing is concerned, Kohli has done better than Sachin. Kohli is unreal.

Yes, there are dangerous batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. Yes, the bowling is striking form just at the right time but for me MS Dhoni's captaincy is India's biggest strength in this World Cup.

Dhoni is one of the greatest captain I have ever seen. Dhoni's record is praiseworthy. Twenty-two Test wins is not a small achievement. And the success against Australia has come against the backdrop of the not-so-good times he went through in the last two years

The best way to get away from a crisis and yet hold on the reins without performance is to find a godfather who would save you at crisis and fool the entire world..This is how it has worked for me.

As Far As One-Day Cricket Is Concerned, Dhoni Is One Of The Greatest Captains Of All Times

To me he will not just be remembered as a great player and a lovely human being, but as somebody who tried to learn Bengali for the last 14 years but never managed to do so!

Dhoni has been an outstanding captain. His record as captain is simply terrific. He has done wonders to Indian cricket.

Bangladesh is not India, Pakistan, South Africa or Australia.

I said it before and I will say it again, MS Dhoni has been simply exceptional. His captaincy has been India's biggest strength in high pressure matches. He has always been 'THE RIGHT MAN' to take India forward.

The thing I like the most about Sachin is his intensity. After being in the game for so long, he still has the same desire to do well for India in any international match. I tell you what, this man is a legend.

When a new CEO comes, make sure you send him a visiting card to say, 'Sir, I'm with you'.

Dhoni is the greatest captain of our country. His record is proof of that.

As of now, Virat Kohli is the greatest batsman of the world

Pick any player of the world. Make him the captain of India. I can assure you that the results will still be the same. MS Dhoni just not lucky enough to have the kind of bowlers that top teams like Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have.

When I used to be the captain of India, many people literally hated me for being overly expressive. Once I retired, the same people used to say COME BACK DADA, WE MISS YOU. The same thing will happen in the case of MS Dhoni. The ones who criticise him right now will understand his importance once he retires.

Some people have called me arrogant or believe that is my reputation, which is far from what I really am like.

The best way to know how Virender Sehwag's mind works is to sit next to him in the players' balcony when India are batting. Every few minutes he will clutch his head and yell, 'Chauka gaya' or 'Chhakka gaya'.

You are anxious before every game because you had to win it. If you didn't you went down the ladder. I felt proud of the way we beat some teams in tough games.

I will keep playing domestic cricket. I feel I am good enough to get back into the Indian team, and playing domestic cricket is the only way out. So I will keep playing.

You're never too worried as a captain, when you know Rahul Dravid's still out there.

The selection rules are the same for everybody. I am trying to make a comeback just like some other players who got dropped after the Pakistan tour. I hope my time will come.