Sourav Ganguly :A Case

Study in Leadership
Twelve Most important Achievements Of Sourav
Ganguly As a Captain Of The Indian Cricket
Team

1. When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing expose in 2000, he
quickly proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. It was a very
tough time both for the Indian cricket and Sourav taking over as captain.. Sourav
was appointed as captain when Sachin Tendulkar, shocked everyone by stepping
down from his captaincy after India’s disastrous tour Down Under in 1999. As
vice captain to Tendulkar, Sourav was the most obvious choice. But he went on to
win the series against South Africa 3-2. Not just that, the BCCI imposed a ban on
the former captain Mohammed Azharuddin and all-rounder Ajay Jadeja, Then the
stalwarts in the team.
2. “The Lagaan Comes Back Home” was the headlines of a national daily when
Sourav led the team to victory in the Nat west trophy in 2002.Chasing a target of
326 seemed impossible but was achieved by ‘Team India’ in an unprecedented
fashion ,and who can forget the shirt waving exercise in the balcony of Lords:
The Mecca Of Cricket. This Win Further resolved his ability as a leader.
3. Beating Pakistan in tests in Pakistan in 2004.This was undisputedly one of the
most glorifying moments in his captaincy.
4. Again, beating Pakistan in Pakistan in ODI’S in 2004. This is a feat which was
not achieved by any of his predecessors before him.
5. Leading the team to victory at the historic test match at the Eden Gardens against
the mighty Australians to halt Steve Waugh’s “Final Frontier” after being made
to follow on .The world saw the emergence of VERY VERY SPECIAL
LAXMAN to complete the tally of the ‘Famous Five’. Not just that , In that
 match itself, for the first time in the history of Indian Cricket ,an Indian Bowler in
the form of Harbhajan Shingh took a hattrick in a test match.
6. The Historic series against Australia ended in Chennai with another win against
Australia . The series ended in India’s Favour with a scoreline of 2-1.This marked
the emergence of DADAGIRI.
7. Promotion of young guns in the team was another aspect of Dada’s captaincy. The
current Indian team has many players who were brought into the team by
‘DADA’. Players like Yuvraj, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Irfan, Sehwag and Zaheer were
some his key instruments in team building ‘TEAM INDIA’.
8. He, till date is the most successful Indian Captain with 21 test wins as a captain
and with a success rate of 42%. A feat unparalleled by any other Indian Captain.
9. He led Team India to the Final of the world Cup in 2003 after a gap of 20 years.
Although, the team lost, people could see an emergence of a force which can
stand up to the mighty Australians. But, If the team had won the match on the 23rd
of March 2003, Sourav would have remained the undisputed Champion of Indian
Cricket.
10. During the 2003 World Cup, The Indian Team had an enviable track record of 8
successive wins which is quite extraordinary.
11. His natural ability as a leader comes to light, when we notice that his ability to
handle seniors and greats like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, and Kumble without any
problems. Leadership comes naturally to him. Under Sourav's leadership, India
got back to the winning habit which the team had forgotten in the past.
12. But unlike his predecessors his most important trait as a leader was that he was
Impartial, Non-parochial and always pushed his players to perform better.
TEN MOST COMMON TRAITS OF A
SUCCESSFUL MANAGER

1) An Eye For Talent- It should be one of the most valuable aspects of a manager.
To recruit the best person for the job. This is also vital for every organization in
the business sense as well. Having the right person at the right time at the right
place can make all the difference. In Sourav’s case it was all the same because he
always promoted the best guy for the position in the team and not someone based
on his religion, caste or state he belongs to….
2) Competency – People would always follow someone who is as competent as
them or if not, more than them. But it does not mean that one has to be an expert
in every field of his/her organization ,but needs to demonstrate ample competence
levels .Also in the Indian Team , ‘Dada’ was always referred to as a bowler with
a ‘golden arm’. If he could not do anything with the bat he always came up with
a vital breakthrough for the team with the ball. This showcases his competence as
an all-rounder.
3) Honesty –In today’s modern competitive world, this has become a major trait of a
successful manager in view of scandals. Also, managers need to display their
honesty to their counterparts/peers in order to win their appreciation. When
Sourav was the captain he was always honest in his appraisals for his players. He
preferred Harbhajan over Kumble as he was a better performer in ODI’s.
However, against Pakistan he preferred Kumble due to his better track record
against them .We come to know this from the fact that, the only match in the 2003
World Cup played by Kumble was against Pakistan in the super sixes.
4) Nurturing Talent – This trait is vital for every manager and organization.
Managers need to groom their people and help them develop skills vital for the
success of their organization. When Sourav was the captain, his persistence on
Dravid to hone up his skills as a wicketkeeper helped him not just to play an
extra batsman/bowler but also won many a matches for India, until the advent of
‘MSD’.
5) Meritocracy- This is perhaps the most important trait of a successful manager.
Managers need to promote people based on merit and only on merit. Sourav too
always did the same .
6) Forward Looking – A manager with this trait in his/her attitude can always lead
his/her organization or people from a difficult situation to a comfortable position.
Sourav in 2003, having lost the world Cup to Australia, came back strongly to
defeat Pakistan in Pakistan in both ODI’s and Tests in 2004.
7) Awe Inspiring – People always love to be inspired and follow an inspirational
leader who can take them to greater heights. Sourav too was inspirational either
with his performance or with his words on and off the field.
8) Insistence for Continued Performance – This is one quality which sets apart
managers from others .The objective here is to perform day in and day out. For
example in Laxman’s case, he came into the one day squad after his historic
performance at the Eden Gardens in 2001 but could not cement his place in the
team because of his performance.
9) Emotional Intelligence – In Today’s modern competitive world, this trait has
become the deciding factor between a good manager and an excellent manager.
An excellent manager will always respond to people in a way they want him/her
to. Sourav always did the same and the prime example of this is his waving of the
shirt violently from the balcony of Lords in 2002 to Andrew Flintoff.
10) Challenge Organizational protocol – Every leader must have the zeal to
challenge existing organizational protocol for the good .This not only strengthens
his capabilities as a leader but also as a commoner. Furthermore, Sourav to a very
large extent handpicked his team defying SET selection procedures often leading
to discontent in the board.
SIX IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP TRAITS OF
SOURAV GANAULY

1) Indifference To Criticism – Gangly always took decisions which he felt right

without caring for the critics’ sake. It is perhaps this indifference to criticism that
led to his omission from the team.
2) No personal Insecurity – Sourav felt that every young player should play two
years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He
also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove
himself. Perhaps, he being at a receiving end of a raw deal that threatened to ruin
his international cricket career enabled Sourav to understand the insecurities of
other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Sourav backed the
youngsters in the team tremendously and thus, gained the love of his teammates.
3) Visionary- His vision was to win the world cup for India and indeed came very
very close to win one after a gap on 20 years.
4) Preference for Match Winners - He relinquished himself, to make the space for
the opening slot to accommodate Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.
Ganguly will most be remembered though for having forged a winning unit from
a bunch of talented boys.
5) Emotional Intelligence – He as a captain always believed in replying on the face
and responding in an appropriate fashion. Again, the prime example of this is his
waving of the shirt violently from the balcony of Lords in 2002 to Andrew
Flintoff.
6) Nurturing Talent- He always wanted his players to develop skills for their and
the teams’ betterment. For example, He along with Sachin helped Harbhajan and
Zaheer hone up their batting skills which in the future has helped India save many
matches from the Jaws of Defeat. Similarly, When Sourav was the captain, his
persistence on Dravid hone up his skills as a wicketkeeper helped him not just to
play an extra batsman/bowler but also won many a matches for India, until the
advent of ‘MSD’.
 Can Sourav Ganguly teach Managers about
leading from the Front? What can the
leaders in businesses learn from his successes
and failures?

There are primarily 3 basic aspects which we learn from Sourav from his
Illustrious Carrier which are stated briefly in the following :-

1) He was prone to experimentation. He promoted himself to the opening slot

and along with Sachin form the best ODI’s opening partnership in the history
of the game . This showcases his ability to shoulder responsibility. An
opener’s job is a specialist’s job and he took over the responsibility to display
his Flamboyant Panache as a southpaw.
2) He always provided vital breakthroughs with his golden arm. He became the
first player in the history of the game to receive 5 consecutive Man of the
Match awards in one-dayers ,in a series, in the Sahara 1997 Cup, which s a
world record till date . He also won the Man of the Series.
3) Again, due to the lack of form he dropped himself from the opening slot to
accommodate Sehwag who was a more attacking player than him, showcases
that he was an honest leader and is ready to make corrections for betterment of
the team.

Future Leaders and entrepreneurs can learn a lot from Sourav .His unprecedented Knack
for experimentation, Indifference to criticism, an eye for talent, his Vision and not to
mention his extraordinary EQ can make every leader stand up and notice. If someone can
accommodate few of the above mentioned qualities as we see in Sourav, they can make a
whole world of difference to their respective organizations.
“Every leader succeeds and fails depending on the
situation he or she is working under !!”

We do agree with the statement because of the fact that success can always be measured
in any field by performance. Also, since success is dependent on the performance it also
incorporates the performance of the other individuals in the group/team, simply because
Business is also about teamwork. Therefore , the acceptance of the leader by his/her
team, the internal and external forces which directly/indirectly affect the business/task,
the performance of his colleagues and peers are responsible for the success of the leader.

Do all leaders have a “Shelf Life ”?

Every leader brings with him/her certain ideas, concepts and theories which are pertinent
to the current working scenario. However , the only constant is change. Therefore, what
is contemporary now might be obsolete in future .Therefore every leader must change
his/her outlook based on the business requirements.

However, those leaders who don’t incorporate these changes fade away only to be
replaced by a more contemporary one .

All these facts remind us of the fact that all leaders do have a shelf life.
Three (3) important quotes of Sourav Ganguly
relevant to Today’s Management Profession

I. “ Now or Never ”- On having reached the finals of the 2003 World Cup reflects
his Visionary attitude.
II. “ I have to make this boy play for India ” – On seeing Dhoni for the first time
in a domestic match. This reflects his Eye for talent.
III. “ I never try to make right Decision, but I make a decision and make work
right.”- On winning a test match. This reflects his attitude of Indifference to
criticism.