Prince of Kolkata

The knives were out for India's most successful cricket captain ever. He has been going through a lean patch for quite some time now, although his laboured last innings has given him some breathing space. The public and the pundits have a very short memory and the achievements of this stylish, dynamic cricketer from India's football state has been fast forgotton. The media has fuelled the fire. His arrogance, agression and audacity have also alienated him from the respectable patrons of the gentleman's game.

But the statistians have to admit that he is among the highest run getters in the limited version of the game. The purists will nod that what he lacked in technique, he more than compensated in timing. The frenzied fans of the game will accept that Tendulkar's Toronto triumph card was Saurav Ganguly's magic arm. And the boisterous Aussies, who have dominated the game so absolutely with their all-round abilities will grudgingly mumble that one man squared his shoulders, stood up to them and took them to task when it came to their infamous psychological warfare. The Maharaja! The Captain of the Indian Cricket team that beat the World champs in home soil.

I was pleasantly surprised when I ran into an article recently that actually accepted attributes that others didn't want to even think about.

Read on.... about a man I admire.