Sourav Ganguly Nearly Resigned as India Captain After Yuvraj, Harbhajan's Prank

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has recalled an elaborate April Fool's prank that left then captain Sourav Ganguly genuinely panicked and ready to give up the captaincy ahead of an India-Pakistan ODI in 2005.

The incident took place on April 1, 2005, during India's training session in Kochi, a day before the opening match of the ODI series against Pakistan. With the pressure surrounding the high-profile contest mounting, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan decided to lighten the dressing-room atmosphere by targeting Ganguly.

The duo prepared fake newspaper clippings suggesting that Ganguly had criticised several teammates, allegedly calling Yuvraj a party animal and questioning the commitment of Harbhajan, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan. The fabricated reports appeared convincing enough to leave Ganguly stunned.

The prank became even more believable when Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid joined in. Having been informed about the plan beforehand, the senior players pretended to question Ganguly over the alleged remarks. Convinced that the reports were genuine, Ganguly insisted that he had never made such comments.

According to Harbhajan, Ganguly then said he would give up the captaincy if it was proved that he had made the statements.

The pranksters escalated matters further by picking up their bags and pretending to leave. A worried Ganguly reportedly ran after them, reminding them that the match was the next day and asking what they were doing.

Meanwhile, coach John Wright was waiting outside for the players to begin training. Harbhajan said Wright had been deliberately kept out of the prank and remained unaware of the dressing-room drama for around 15-20 minutes.

The prank eventually ended when someone broke character and laughed. Harbhajan said the team later felt they had pushed the joke too far, but recalled Ganguly as an elder-brother figure who helped create a close-knit dressing room.

Harbhajan also stressed that humour and camaraderie are important in sport, arguing that "a happy dressing room is a winning dressing room."

The following day, India defeated Pakistan by 87 runs, with Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid scoring centuries and Tendulkar taking five wickets. India won the first two matches but ultimately lost the six-match series 4-2.