Despite being one of India’s most successful cricket captains, Sourav Ganguly said he had never imagined that he would be playing for the country one day.
“I played cricket a lot during my youth. However, I didn’t know I would play for India one day,” he said while answering a question by an eager schoolboy about playing cricket during his school days. ‘Dada’ was in Bengaluru to promote the ‘Support My School’ project of Coca Cola and NDTV and was interacting with children from government schools. The students also told him about shortage of teachers in their school.
Advising students to never give up learning, Ganguly said that a person’s educational foundation was very important in achieving a successful sporting career. “Education is important to have a good sporting career. It greatly effected my presence of mind. There is a need for a balance in life between one’s education and sports,” he said. Talking about a sportsperson’s career, ‘Dada’ said: “A sportsman’s life is limited. On an average, it would be around 38-40 years. This is when the life of most people may be beginning, so the basic foundation in education is even more important.”
As part of the campaign, Ganguly is aiming to reach as many as 1,000 schools. The campaign has helped to revitalise 600 schools across the country and 2.1 lakh children since it started in 2011. T Krishnakumar, CEO, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd, Anu Gaga, former chairperson, Thermax, Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries Ltd, were also present.
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