Waugh praises Ganguly's leadership

Despite their games of one-upmanship on and off the field last year, Australia's Test cricket captain Steve Waugh paid rich compliments to his Indian counterpart, saying Sourav Ganguly is one of the best captains to have led the Indian cricket team.

"Ganguly has proved to be one of the best captains. He has now acquired great leadership qualities," Waugh, who is in Kolkata as MRF Brand Ambassador, told reporters.

"Ganguly led well in winning the Test series against us last year and I admired his leadership qualities. He has developed toughness in character and that is what is needed for Indian cricket.

"A nation needs such tough characters and leadership in a captain and normally he (the captain) is not changed," Waugh said.

Asked about the adverse news reports on Ganguly in Australian newspapers during the tour, Waugh said, "I cannot recall newspaper reports but we moved along very well."

He also had a word of praise for Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

"It is the largest cricket stadium in the subcontinent and over 85,000 people thronging it on five days in a row is amazing," he said.

Waugh, who is involved in charity with 'Udayan', an orphanage supported by him in Kolkata, will launch a new project in the city next month, which will provide food, clothing, shelter and education to 200 underprivileged girls.

He said the motivation to help the underprivileged came from the late Mother Teresa.

In an emotion-choked voice, Waugh said: "I have a young daughter. I am not a religious person, but when I met and shook hands with Mother Teresa, it had a calming influence on me."

Waugh said meeting Mother Teresa was one of the greatest experiences of his life and it encouraged him to get involved in charity.

"Children in Udayan started learning musical instruments and some played few songs on a violin within two years time. In some ways, these matters changed my life," he said.

On his new project, Waugh said, "Life is tough but we got to raise money to look after these 200 children (girls). MRF has been helping me in this regard from the beginning and I am in discussion with them on this.

"We require land in Kolkata and enough money to take care of these kids, pay the teachers and meet other administrative expenses," he said.

"This is my main priority, apart from my goal to get back into the one-day squad of the Australian team."

Mail Cricket Editor