Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is a man whose cricket career, either playing or as an administrator, has never been short of controversy.
He refused to carry the drinks for his teammates; he had an unhappy stint at Lancashire; there was an alleged affair with actor Nagma; he had clashes with teammates, opposition players and match referees; he was guilt of dissent on numerous occasions; and his rift with Greg Chappell in 2005 and 2006 became media fodder.
Ganguly captained the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural IPL. However, ahead of the 2009 season, when the tournament moved to South Africa because it clashed with the Indian general elections, Kolkata contemplated a multi-captain approach. A day before the tournament started, Brendon McCullum took charge of the team.
In truth, a storm had been brewing for some time between Ganguly and Kolkata’s Australian coach John Buchanan. Although the two had initially enjoyed a good relationship, Buchanan increasingly came to the realisation that Ganguly was not suited to T20 cricket or the demands of leading a team under the unique pressures of the IPL, and lacked the ability to understand all the complexities of the different sets of plays that need to be put in place, nor was he sufficiently decisive.
Ganguly, a fan’s favourite, was left out of the team, and was swiftly cast in the role of victim. It turned out to be a disastrous season for the franchise. They finished bottom of the league and Buchanan lost his job. Meanwhile, the Fake IPL Player blog made its appearance, which purported to lift the lid on the less than salutary goings-on behind the scenes (although it later transpired these were largely made up).
Ganguly returned as captain the following year, but was not retained for the 2011 season. He played a year for the Pune Warriors India as captain and mentor. At the end of the 2012 season he decided to retire from the game, and went on to become President of the BCCI.