Ayrton Senna, Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Martina Navratilova, Viv Richards & Sachin Tendulkar are the select names one would associate with being a legend. Every now and then though, there come and go lesser legends, champions in their own right. They may not have what it takes to be the legend of a lifetime, however they are champions, champions who fought for a cause, without letting outside influences prevent them from attaining their goals.

There were quite ordinary players who became automatic choices for the Indian team under former captains simply because of regional bias, and this is bigger than it seems, simply because, each selector then had a “right” to have their zone players in the team. It was clearly a policy of give and take followed by the then selectors and captains.

It takes a man of greater than life character to utter the simplest and yet probably the toughest word, “no”. He refused to let any emotions come into play when deciding the final eleven and this might well have been one of the reasons for his present state, had he been part of the give and take policy, no one would have got hurt - except for Indian cricket that is – and everyone could have “co-existed” happily with Ganguly “surviving” the axe.

Maradona, who while enjoying life, living it to the fullest, could not continue sticking to the right path and threw it all away.
Ayrton Senna, did I hear somebody mention perfection personified, probably was too perfect for the track, and was taken away from all sport lovers in what was one of the most tragic events of the 20th century.
Sachin Tendulkar would not give up the heavy bat till he was forced to, and he is still hurting from the overwear?
Ganguly, though people would not approve his name being associated with these greats, had a strength of character that proved his downfall in the end.

In a way there was no better way for some of these champions to leave, can anybody imagine a Maradona out of form, someone who feels the ball better with his feet than his hand.
Can someone imagine Senna, not finishing on the pole due to decreasing agility.
Or a Tendulkar, forced to retire because of not being able to hit the bowlers at will.

There are going to be arguments about Ganguly’s fitness and his attitude, but then even Maradona, the master of football could not extend his mastery over drugs.
Ganguly ensured that all were treated equal in the team, there was no way a senior could throw his weight around with this captain at the helm, he listened to everyone’s opinion, the final decision was always the best.
He did have his bias, however that bias was only toward players who deserved it, no one could argue that there was a better player waiting in the wings than Yuvraj, or anyone more lion-hearted than Kaif, or a crafty spinner better than a fully fit Bhajji. It must have thus hurt him more deeply than anything else, when Sehwag said the Ganguly episode was a “thing” of the past. Ganguly was the one who saw Sehwag’s potential and promoted him up the order to open the innings, even giving up his slot at the top. Mind you, Ganguly’s best batting position in the ODI scenario was in the opener’s slot.

The SriLankan players of the 1996 world cup winning combination lookup to Ranatunga as a father figure, and here, dada is not called dada anymore, unfortunately, thanks to gratitude and courtesy being “things” of the past.

Knowing Ganguly's mental strength and determination however, there is a feeling that he’s got one last innings left before this chapter of his life is finished.
But again, you never know, wherever politics raises its ugly head, true champions cease to exist unless they are made of the stuff legends are made of. Thankfully Sachin Tendulkar being a legend does not have many detractors.