Sourav Ganguly Recalls How He Learned Leadership Lesson From Sehwag’s Defiance In 2002 NatWest Series

Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has been a successful leader and a prominent figure in cricket, both in India and globally. His contributions to Indian cricket have always been acknowledged and respected. Recently, in an interview, he shared fascinating anecdote about the historic final match of the 2002 NatWest Series, which have now gone viral.

In a video, he shared an important lesson in captaincy that he learned from his opening partner, Virender Sehwag, during the Natwest Trophy 2002 final. India started well, with Virender Sehwag scoring 45 and Sourav Ganguly scoring 60, together adding 106 runs for the first wicket while chasing a target of 326. However, India’s chase faltered as they lost quick wickets, reducing them to 146/5 in 24 overs. They faced the challenging task of chasing England’s total of 326 runs at Lord’s cricket ground.

Watch the video here:
 

Good example of leadership
1. How do you lead people who are different from you?
2. How do you nurture different approaches?
Also wonder how @SGanguly99 would have reacted if Sehwag had got out in that over?#Leadership
Rcvd from WA pic.twitter.com/Fw3RFy3csD

— D Prasanth Nair (@DPrasanthNair) July 16, 2024

Sourav Ganguly recounts an incident with Sehwag during a match at Lord’s. Despite Ganguly’s advice to play conservatively, Sehwag aggressively hit multiple boundaries in a single over, demonstrating a different approach. Ganguly initially felt frustrated but later acknowledged Sehwag’s strategy was effective, leading to their victory. This experience taught Ganguly a valuable lesson in leadership: understanding and leveraging individual differences in a team. He realised that each player, like Sehwag, Dravid, and Harbhajan Singh, has unique strengths and should be allowed to play to their own style for the team’s success. This adaptability is crucial to effective leadership.

“I realised there was no point in stopping him.” You cannot expect every individual to behave, react, work, and do things the same way. That is very important in leadership,” he said.

Later in the match India registered a historic win against England with heroic innings of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.