Sourav Ganguly reveals what he realised after meeting 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar

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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has opened up on his first meeting with a 14-year-old Sachin Tendulkar at the MRF pace academy. Ganguly admitted that he realised it very quickly that Sachin Tendulkar was a 'far superior cricketer' than him.

Sourav Ganguly said that batting in the company of Sachin Tendulkar helped him evolve his own game. The duo till date hold the record for most runs togethers as openers in ODI cricket. Ganguly and Sachin batted together in 136 innings and scored 6609 runs at an average of 49.32. They stitched 21 century partnerships.

"I first met Sachin when he was 14 years old at the MRF pace academy & over time we would go on to spend 6-7 months in a year together and developed a close friendship and trust over time," Ganguly said on episode 1 of Champions' Sport-Cast.

"As a cricketer, he was a far superior cricketer than me, and that is something I strongly believe in. To raise your game, you must partner with those better than you and we continue to be very close friends," he added.

'I had a tremendous ball sense in football'

Sourav Ganguly wanted to be a footballer but started playing cricket because of his brother. The former BCCI president said he had a tremendous ball sense in football and got got hold of cricket soon as well after playing backyard cricket with his brother and other friends.

“For me, playing sports was a way out and to get away from my mom who always wanted me to study. I actually started playing football and realized that I had tremendous ball sense, probably attributing it to being from Kolkata.

"I started playing cricket because of my brother and would play in a 7-a-side cricket game in our backyard. It was because of these tennis ball matches, that I was able to absorb the game sense, and touch from a very young age," Ganguly said.

Sourav Ganguly's leadership mantra

Ganguly, one of the most successful captains in Indian and world cricket, reckoned that being kind to his players and standing behind them to gain their trust and best on the field, was the hallmark of his leadership style.

“For me leadership is about managing people because everyone's different. At the end of the day, I cannot win cricket games alone. I need the 10 players next to me to drive towards that goal. So I always looked to manage different personalities and try to ensure they played on the field where it mattered. I would just be kind to all my players and if there were ever mistakes, I would find a way to hide it. And just got them to have enough trust in me over time so that they gave the best for the team," he said in the video posted by YouTube channel DreamSetGo.

Ganguly led India in 146 ODIs. India won 76 and lost 65 of those matches. The southpaw captained India in 49 Test matches and led the team to victory 21 times, losing only on 13 occasions.