Mumbai: Sourav Ganguly took over as skipper of Team India at a time when Indian cricket was rocked by match-fixing scandals in early 2000s. With no anti-corruption mechanisms to solve the menace during those days, the situation for cricketers was a tough one.
The era saw players such as Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja banned for match-fixing leaving the most sport in doldrums.
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Players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and Ganguly have often been asked if they were approached by bookies to fix any game during their time but all of them denied any such acts.
Given their stature and loyalty to the sport, nobody would have even dared to approach them, even the bookies.
Recently, in a report in Sportskeeda, a bookie revealed that he along with his accomplices did not have the guts to approach Dada to fix a match.
“During the time Sourav Ganguly was the captain most bookies wanted him to fix matches. But they also knew that it could never happen, because Dada was one of the most patriotic captains," a former bookie was quoted as saying.
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"The bookies were scared to approach him as they knew he would turn them in. So, it was a grown consensus that Ganguly cannot be sold and no one had the guts to approach him, as it could put their business into jeopardy,” he added.
The Prince of Kolkata will always be remembered as a leader who dug deep to break the shackles of match-fixing in the country and certainly led by example both on and off the field.
