A lighthearted prank intended to inject some humor into the Indian cricket team’s dressing room nearly led to a major crisis, with then-captain Sourav Ganguly reportedly on the verge of relinquishing his leadership. This incident unfolded on April Fool’s Day in 2005, just one day before India was slated to commence a pivotal one-day international series against arch-rivals Pakistan in Kochi. The intense pressure associated with facing their familiar adversaries was already palpable, setting the stage for an ill-conceived jest by Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh.
The duo orchestrated a deceptive scheme involving fabricated newspaper clippings. These spurious articles contained concocted statements, purportedly from Ganguly, in which he harshly criticized his teammates. The fabricated comments branded players as “party animals,” accused them of irresponsibility, and suggested a lack of cohesion within the squad. The clippings were crafted with such convincing detail that Ganguly, genuinely believing them to be authentic, was left visibly confused and deeply troubled.
Recalling the elaborate setup, Harbhajan Singh explained in an interview with news agency PTI: “The entire team was sitting when we created this drama and decided that we would make an April Fool of Dada. Yuvi started it: ‘Dada, what is this statement that you have given to the press?’ He told him that you have called Yuvi a party animal, Harbhajan doesn’t care about anyone, Ashish Nehra is also in his own world, and Zaheer Khan also parties a lot.” He continued, “Dada said ‘when did I say this?’ Then we showed those clippings to him and said, ‘What is this?'”
The prank gained significant momentum with the unexpected involvement of two senior members of the squad: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. They had been discreetly informed of the plan beforehand and played their roles convincingly, further solidifying Ganguly’s belief in the veracity of the reports. Harbhajan recounted, “We had already spoken to the seniors about this. I told Paaji (Tendulkar), ‘Paaji, you tell him’. And he said, ‘Dada, if you have done this, this is wrong’. Rahul Dravid was also playing along, so he also said, ‘Dada, this is not done, yaar’. When two senior players said that, Dada thought (this must be genuine).” The gravity of the situation escalated dramatically when Ganguly, clearly distressed, declared, “I swear, I didn’t do this. I’ll give up the captaincy if (it’s proved that) I did this.”
The pranksters, perhaps emboldened by their initial success, took the deception a step further. Harbhajan and a few other players intentionally began to pack their bags and head towards the dressing room exit. “While he was reading them (the newspaper clips), two or three of us picked up our bags and started walking out. Dada came running after us, saying, ‘Arre yaar, wait, guys! The match is tomorrow. What are you people doing?'” The charade finally came to an end when one of the players inadvertently broke character and burst into laughter, revealing the elaborate hoax.
Reflecting on the incident, Harbhajan acknowledged the severity of their actions. “Dada was the kind of captain whom we could fool that day, but later we felt, ‘Yaar, we’ve really put this decent man through it.’ If it had been some other captain, he would genuinely have made us pick up our bags and told us, ‘Get out of here and go home’.” He concluded with warmth, emphasizing the deep respect they held for Ganguly: “But he was like a big brother.” This anecdote offers a fascinating glimpse into the camaraderie and internal dynamics of the Indian cricket team during a significant era, highlighting Ganguly’s benevolent leadership even in the face of a misguided prank.
