Sourav Ganguly Recalls Rahul Dravid’s Heartfelt Words

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has recalled a heartfelt moment involving his close friend and former teammate Rahul Dravid. Ganguly said that after his retirement, discussions about his career often focused mainly on his captaincy and leadership. Dravid, however, once reminded him not to overlook his achievements as a batter, pointing to his enormous international run tally. Ganguly said those words meant a lot to him and made him feel recognised not just as a captain, but as a player as well. Their long association dates back to India's youth teams, and both made their Test debuts in the same match at Lord’s in 1996.

Ganguly finished his international career with 18,575 runs and 38 centuries across Tests and ODIs. He also scored 11,363 ODI runs and took 100 ODI wickets, underlining his contribution with both bat and ball. As India captain from 2000 to 2005, he backed young talent and helped shape a team that became increasingly competitive overseas. His friendship with Dravid has remained one of the memorable bonds of that generation of Indian cricket.