Sourav Ganguly Was A Massive Influence On My Bowling: Ashok Dinda

Ashok Dinda, recently retired Indian and Bengal pacer called fellow state-mate Sourav Ganguly a massive influence on his career and said he owed all his success with the ball to the former Indian captain and current BCCI President.

Sourav Ganguly taught the young pacer a trick of gripping the ball correctly, a piece of advice which the bowler followed throughout his career as he went on to claim 420 wickets in First-Class cricket.

Ashok Dinda Learned Much From Sourav Ganguly And He Owes All His Wickets To His Advice

Speaking to Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu in an SK Live session on Facebook, Ashok Dinda lavished praises on his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Sourav Ganguly and said he wouldn’t be as successful without Sourav Ganguly’s advise.

“From the correct grip to wrist position to many other minute aspects of bowling, I have learned so much from Dada (Sourav Ganguly). He has been outstanding, and he has done a lot for me. I owe all my wickets to his pieces of advice. He was a massive influence on my bowling. In 2009, at Eden Gardens, he showed me the bowling grip I followed all my career, which I also share with youngsters,” said Ashok Dinda.

“Dada told me that our leather ball is four-piece. He showed me a grip and the right finger position to get the ball’s measure. It’s more useful once the ball loses its newness and the shape alters. I got the advice instilled in my head and for the next 12 years and followed it every time I ran in to bowl,” recalled Ashok Dinda, one of the most successful fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy with 339 wickets.

Sourav Ganguly was India’s captain when a young Ashok Dinda was making his mark in Bengal cricket and pressing for a Ranji Trophy berth. The early part of his domestic career coincided with Sourav Ganguly’s playing days. Apart from Bengal, they also represented KKR during the early IPL days and later the now-defunct Pune Warriors India.

Ashok Dinda played from India between 2009 and 2013. He played 13 ODIs and 9 T20Is where he picked 12 and 17 scalps respectively. He also picked 420 wickets in 116 first-class appearances and 151 wickets in 98 List A games. He picked the same number of wickets (151) in 147 T209 games.

Ashok Dinda: Zaheer Khan Was Another Big Influence

Ashok Dinda also called Zaheer Khan another ‘big influence’ and shared an instance when the left-arm pace champion guided him to perfect the seam position.

“During an ODI series, I was bowling, and the ball wasn’t landing on the seam. Zaheer Khan showed me a small trick on perfecting the seam position. I kept practising that all day and I enjoyed bowling after that. Everything was landing the way I wanted. Zaheer-bhai was another big influence,” Ashok Dinda added.

Ashok Dinda also picked 68 wickets in 78 IPL games averaging 30.45.