Ganga quits as T&T captain
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Perennial Trinidad and Tobago captain Daren Ganga has quit the post, two weeks after his side’s failed campaign in the Super50 series in Guyana.
In a release on Saturday, the 32-year-old announced he would be stepping down as head of the side he has led for the last nine seasons.
Last month, T&T went down to Jamaica in the final of the Super50, the premier regional one-day tournament.
“I have always believed that one of my most important duties as captain is to foster the development of the players in my team as a critical aspect of succession planning,” said Ganga.
“The evolution of the team into the mature unit it is, along with the emergence of a pool of potential leaders within the team reaffirm that the time is right for relinquishing the reins of captaincy.
“I wish to make it abundantly clear that I am not retiring from cricket and I continue to make myself available for selection on the national cricket team and pledge my support to the new captain.”
Ganga has led T&T with success over the years, winning every title on offer in the region.
Under his leadership, T&T won the 2004 one-day title, the 2006 four-day title before going on to capture back-to-back one-day titles in 2008 and 2009.
He also steered T&T to the capture of the second Stanford Twenty20 Championship in 2008 before helping to put Trinidadian cricket on the map by reaching the final of the inaugural Champions League T20 tournament, where they lost to New South Wales.
Ganga’s most recent success came earlier this year when T&T won the Caribbean Twenty20, to qualify for the CLT20.
“I have viewed this position of leadership as both a privilege and a tremendous responsibility that I have taken seriously during my tenure,” said Ganga, who led West Indies in two of his 48 Tests.
“While there have been challenges along the way, they pale in comparison to the innumerable rewarding moments and successes which I have enjoyed alongside my fellow players.
“One of the most fulfilling aspects of my captaincy was the opportunity to contribute to Trinidad and Tobago’s rise from the lower tiers of West Indian cricket to the regional powerhouse it is today.”
Ganga said he would now enter “a new phase” of his professional and personal life.
