Sourav Ganguly will become the fourth Indian in this squad alone to have played 100 Tests, come Wednesday. In this interview to Deccan Herald, the former skipper said he was fortunate enough to have played in the 'Golden Era' of Indian cricket. Excerpts:

Q: The fourth man in this party to play a hundred Tests...
A: This is a special bunch -- people like Anil, Sachin and Rahul. I would add VVS (Laxman) to this list as well. I am not too sure whether such players keep coming every time. It's good to be a part of it. Together, we have seen Indian cricket progress. It has been the golden era -- from 2000 till the end of the Pakistan series has been one of the best phases of Indian cricket, both in Tests and one-dayers. Since 2000, our Test performances have improved immensely, be it in Pakistan, Australia, England or West Indies. We have been as successful overseas as at home.

Q: It must please you that you as a skipper put the process of winning Tests away in motion.
A: It does. It is not just me. It was John (Wright) and the bunch of players in the team. They all played a very important part in the team's success, as also the training staff. That's where Indian cricket has gone through a big change, in terms of fitness and training. It has shown in the matches. There is a changed mindset now, and mindset is the most important thing in cricket. Once we tasted our first overseas success, things started to change.

It was important for me to make them believe that we can win overseas. I have always felt wickets overseas were much better than in India. At the same time, we needed to have a good crop of seamers who could pick wickets, we already had two world-class spinners. We needed the batsmen to realise that we are capable of getting big scores overseas, because you need runs on the board to win. It was important to make them believe, it was important to pick players who -- whether it's me or the selectors felt -- had the ability to do well overseas, and persist with them. That was very important -- I have never felt that you pick players and discard them after three or four matches. That has helped us do well because players have played freely and for the team.

Q: Which was more painful -- being out in the limbo from 1992 to 1996, or the nine months last year?
A: It has to be last year. In '92, I was young, I hadn't had the taste of international cricket. I toured Australia but hardly played anything. I was happy playing Ranji Trophy. At 20, nothing matters. You were playing in a good Bengal team, I never worried whether I would play for India or not. But obviously, when I got left out last year, it was tough. I desperately wanted to get back to prove to myself that I am still good enough and can perform till the time I want to. That period increased my hunger for the game. I also realised that there is a lot more to life than cricket, and that nothing changes if I don't play the sport. That helped me a lot -- that whether I am successful or not, my life will still go on.

Q: Is that one of the factors responsible for your stirring success of late?
A: The mind, yet, but also better confidence and technique. The hunger for runs is also very important. I have started to think a lot better because obviously I am not captain. I have a lot more time for myself. I am not doing too many things that you have to as a captain. That's also helped. I have had time to keep working on my own game.

Q: What did captaining India mean to you?
A: It is a huge honour, but I feel every captain has a shelf life. It doesn't get any easier in India because as captain, you are doing almost everything -- organising things, getting the team to play, getting the team right, talking to players, interacting with the media, trying to make the people who are in control understand that this is what we need to do well. Sometimes, you don't realise that you have gone through a whole day without actually working on your game! The pressures of captaincy when I started and the pressures now have gone even more higher, as have the demands. Rahul and Anil are facing more demands now than when I started in 2000. I realised that also towards the end of my captaincy period. But I was happy with the results because the team started moving forward, and it is still doing so.

Q: What legacy do you think you will leave behind?
A: The thing which I will remember most whenever I finish -- and it's not just me because no team's success depends on one individual, and there are quite a few in this team that will finish six months this way or that way of each other -- is that I will be happy that I will finish with the idea in other teams' minds that this was a team that came out and played well. These were the bunch of boys who changed the face of Indian cricket in terms of travelling abroad, removed the tag of just being pushovers overseas.

Q: The best compliment you have received?
A: When I came to Australia in 2003, after we finished the series and had the last press conference, the whole group of Australian journalists applauded and said this was the best touring team to come to Australia in a long time. I think that was very special.