Sourav's entire career had been a saga of struggle. At times, we did feel people were being unfair to him. But that, I guess, is how it is with some people."
"I can never forget the pain I saw in his eyes when he lost the captaincy almost without any hint and was even dropped from the Indian side at a 'special' someone's whim."
"Hats off to Sourav for not losing his spirit even then. My son is a man of steel. He is a born fighter. What a whammy comeback he made. I feel he should be revered as much for his entire career graph as for his stupendous return to the Indian squad."
"What is commendable about Sourav is that even during those days of despair, we never heard him mouthing any nasty word about (Greg) Chappell. "All he said was, 'Bapi, he is just being manipulated.'"
"I often ask myself, why people (read officials) hated Sourav so much? Is it the look or the demeanour?"
"After much thought, I came to the conclusion that they probably disliked him for speaking his mind. While selecting newcomers like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, Sourav never compromised."
"He would go to any extent to get them in his team. Like a true leader, he wanted to choose his team. That probably did not go down well with the selectors."
"Perhaps they wanted a captain who would dance to their tune."
Image: Scenes from a glittering career on the family home's walls
Also read: Indian Cricket's Mahayuddh
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