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Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly met Team India head coach Rahul Dravid at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.
A day ahead of the 1st T20I between India and West Indies, the BCCI’s Twitter account shared a picture of Ganguly interacting with Dravid at the Eden Gardens. The cricket board posted the image with the caption:
“When two legends of Indian Cricket met at the Eden Gardens.”
Unlike earlier times, this was a different kind of meeting as the former teammates maintained social distancing and were seen wearing face masks.
Dravid took over from Ravi Shastri as Team India’s head coach after the latter’s tenure came to an end following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE.
Having clinched the ODI series 3-0, Team India will be keen to put up a good performance in the T20Is as well. All three games of the T20I series will be played at the Eden Gardens.
While the 1st match will be played without crowds, according to reports, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has requested the BCCI to allow spectators at Eden Gardens for the last two T20Is.
Dravid and Ganguly’s special connection with Eden Gardens
While the iconic Eden Gardens is Ganguly’s home ground, it holds a special place for both the legends of Indian cricket. Ganguly and Dravid were part of the playing XI that defeated Australia in the famous 2001 Test at the venue, thereby ending the visitors’ 16-Test winning streak.
Ganguly was the captain of that team, while Dravid contributed 180 in the second innings. He featured in a legendary partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman (281) to turn the Test match on its head. India went on to win the Test by 171 runs after being made to follow on.
The BCCI president and the head coach go a long way back. Both made their Test debuts together in 1996 at Lord’s. While Ganguly notched up a century, Dravid fell short by a mere five runs. The former took over as India’s captain in 2000, while the latter was his successor in the role.
