'Sourav Ganguly had won my heart as a human too' - Saqlain Mushtaq reveals an interesting incident between him and former Indian skipper

Sourav Ganguly, Saqlain Mushtaq (Image Source: Twitter)

Sourav Ganguly was one of India’s finest captains and his records speak for himself. But fans from the 90s and early 2000s consider him to have an edge over the others because of one special quality. Only MS Dhoni can stand next to him when it comes to captaincy and India was lucky to have the Ranchi guy to take the team forward post the Ganguly era. 

Speaking of the Kolkata star’s special ability, he found the right talent at the right time. It is not a mystery or unrevealed history that Sourav Ganguly brought Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan into the Indian squad. This made him a superstar as he rebuilt the Indian team with fiery young blood. Former Pakistan great Saqlain Mushtaq has now presented a stunning revelation on an incident involving Sourav Ganguly. 

The Pakistan head coach revealed that he apologized to the former India skipper for having a misconception about him. Mushtaq said to Sportskeeda that he had earlier thought that Sourav Ganguly had an ego and regarded himself as the highest amongst all. 

“There are some people with whom you don't feel like talking or interacting. During our playing days, initially, I had that feeling for Sourav Ganguly. He was India's captain and a legend without doubt. However, whenever we met, it was always "hello", "hi" and nothing more. I had a feeling that he thinks very highly of himself," the Pakistan coach told Sportskeeda. 

“After my knee operation in 2003-04, Ganguly was there on that tour and Sachin Tendulkar as well. Sachin had just had an elbow injury. I was playing a side match against India. It was my first match after rehab and I had to play county for Sussex," Mushtaq added further. 

 I was shocked: Saqlain Mushtaq

The Pakistan coach further continued the story and said that he was shocked about what Sourav Ganguly did next. He said that the then Indian skipper brought him a coffee and enquired about his injury. The coach further added that the gesture from Sourav Ganguly forced him to apologize to the Indian legend for having a misconception. 

“Believe me, Ganguly brought two cups of coffee. The roofs of the two dressing rooms were together. There was just a small wall in between. You could either jump or come from behind. He jumped with two coffee cups in hands and came to meet me. I was shocked and was wondering what he was doing here,” Saqlain Mushtaq said about Sourav Ganguly. 

“That changed my perception of Ganguly. I felt ashamed regarding my misconception of such a nice human. I never had a conversation with him before and assumed that he was a strange person and had an ego,” he said to Sportskeeda. 

The Pakistan head coach did not shy away from admitting that he apologized to the Indian legend for having a wrong opinion about him. He further added that Sourav Ganguly won his heart as a human on the back of his kind gesture. 

"I told him, 'I have become your fan as a human'. Of course, what he has done as a player, enough cannot be said about it. But after that chat, he had won my heart as a human too,” Saqlain Mushtaq concluded.