‘I Should Have Converted Those Starts’: Ganguly Reflects on His Biggest Regret

Though he has 38 outstanding international centuries to his credit, retired India skipper Sourav Ganguly confesses that he tends to look back on the hundreds that went astray in his illustrious cricketing career.

A suave left-hander with his stylish strokeplay, Ganguly scored a total of 18,575 runs in 113 Tests and 311 One-Day Internationals.

Still, for everything that he had achieved, he is still nostalgic about the numerous near-misses which deprived him of a much higher number of centuries.

PTI asked him what he would say to his younger self and he replied:
I missed so many hundreds, I should have scored more. Too many 90s and 80s."

An investigation into his career statistics deeper than the soundbite level shows that he was given out in the 80s and 90s 30 times. If he had converted half of those starts, Ganguly's century tally would have easily crossed 50, adding more shine to an already glittering record.

He confessed that he keeps revisiting his past performances alone, particularly when his family is not present, only to be reminded of the unfulfilled innings.
I watch my (batting) videos when I am by myself. When my wife is not around because Sara stays in London. I open YouTube and watch and tell myself 'arre fir 70 pe out ho gaya' (Gosh, I got out on 70 in this too), should have got a hundred. But you can't do anything about it," he laughed.

In his ODI career, Ganguly recorded 72 fifties, and in Tests, he reached the half-century mark 35 times—numbers that highlight how often he approached three figures.

Ganguly was also a captain who made aggressive, and at times tough, decisions as a skipper—one of which continues to haunt him. He acknowledged that leaving out legend leg-spinner Anil Kumble on a few occasions was especially difficult.

"Anil Kumble, a couple of times, because he was that good," Ganguly mused when quizzed if he ever looked back upon any of his choice calls in charge.

Of all the sides he encountered, Australia were his favorite rivals, and fastest bowler in history Glenn McGrath was the one bowler he was most afraid of.