'Dada, this is not done': When Ganguly nearly gave up India captaincy over a prank
It happened on April Fool’s Day in 2005, a day before India began a one-day series against Pakistan in Kochi. With the pressure of playing their familiar rivals already building, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh decided to play a prank on Ganguly.
On April Fool's Day in 2005, ahead of a one-day series against Pakistan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh planned a prank to prank India captain Sourav Ganguly. The duo brought fake newspaper clippings to the dressing room with fabricated statements criticizing Ganguly for being a party animal, irresponsible, and distant. The clippings were convincing enough to leave Ganguly confused.
He questioned his teammates about the statements, but they insisted they were genuine. Senior players Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who had been briefed beforehand, also played along, further convincing Ganguly. Tendulkar told Ganguly, "Dada, if you have done this, this is wrong," and Dravid said, "Dada, this is not done, yaar."
When Ganguly insisted he did not make such statements, the pranksters picked up their bags and left the dressing room. Ganguly chased after them, begging them to wait, as the match against Pakistan started the next day. The prank ended when one of the players broke character and laughed. Ganguly, who was known for his forgiving nature, realized the prank had put him under unnecessary stress.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
