The Prank That Made a Captain Resign
Sourav Ganguly was known for his fierce leadership, but even he had his limits. The team's notorious pranksters, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, once decided to push them. They told Ganguly they wouldn't play under him anymore, citing fictional negative
comments he'd supposedly made to the press. A shocked and emotional Ganguly took the prank to heart and offered to resign his captaincy on the spot. It was only when Rahul Dravid saw how upset 'Dada' was that he revealed the ploy. An initially hurt Ganguly reportedly recovered his fiery spirit quickly enough to chase the pranksters around the room with a bat.
Virat Kohli's Trial by Prank
Walking into the Indian dressing room for the first time is daunting for any young player. For Virat Kohli, it was also a test of his gullibility. Senior players, including Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, convinced the nervous newcomer that it was a team tradition to seek Sachin Tendulkar's blessings by touching his feet. Eager to show respect to his idol, Kohli promptly did so. Tendulkar was taken aback, having no idea what was happening until he saw the other players laughing. This playful initiation became a memorable, if embarrassing, start to Kohli's legendary career.
Virender Sehwag's Musical Motivation
Virender Sehwag's approach to batting was famously simple: see ball, hit ball. His mental technique was just as unique. To keep his mind from overthinking and to block out negative thoughts, Sehwag would sing old Hindi film songs to himself at the crease. His go-to was often 'Chala jaata hoon'. This habit was so ingrained that during a Test match in Chennai, while on 300, he forgot a lyric and called 12th man Ishant Sharma onto the field, not for drinks, but to fetch the song's lyrics from his iPod in the dressing room.
MS Dhoni's Path from 'Bihari' to Buddy
Before he was 'Captain Cool', MS Dhoni was a newcomer from a non-traditional cricketing state. In his early days, he was reportedly teased by senior players, with Yuvraj Singh often calling him 'Bihari'. Yuvraj would taunt him that hitting sixes was easy, but playing match-winning innings was what truly mattered. When Dhoni started delivering those very innings, Yuvraj shifted the goalposts to Test match success. One day, a fed-up Dhoni confronted him, asking why he was always so angry. That moment of frankness broke the ice and was the beginning of their great friendship.
Sachin's Pranks and Shopping Sprees
While revered as the 'God of Cricket', Sachin Tendulkar was also a known prankster and had his own unique habits. Sourav Ganguly once revealed that Tendulkar's two main activities off the field were batting and shopping. He would score a Test hundred one day and be spotted at an Armani or Versace store the next, building an impressive wardrobe. But he also had a mischievous side. Teammates recall him being a notorious prankster, once even flooding Sourav Ganguly's room with water alongside Vinod Kambli during their junior cricket days. Another time, Harbhajan Singh recalled the team throwing a fully-dressed Tendulkar into a jacuzzi to celebrate a Test win.
Kapil Dev and the Unwanted Guest
The sanctity of the dressing room was paramount for captain Kapil Dev. During a tournament in Sharjah in 1986, a businessman entered the Indian dressing room and offered each player a brand new car if they defeated Pakistan in the final. While the offer might have tempted some, Kapil Dev was furious at the intrusion. He promptly asked the man, who was later identified as the wanted underworld figure Dawood Ibrahim, to leave the dressing room immediately, famously telling him to get out.
