Sourav Ganguly almost resigned as India captain due to a prank played by Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh.

In a light-hearted attempt to ease the tension before a highly anticipated cricket series against Pakistan, a prank played by two Indian cricketers in 2005 nearly backfired spectacularly. The incident unfolded on April Fool’s Day, just a day prior to the commencement of a one-day series in Kochi, where the pressure was already mounting on the Indian team, led by captain Sourav Ganguly.

Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh devised a scheme to prank Ganguly by presenting him with fabricated newspaper clippings. These clippings contained fictitious quotes attributed to Ganguly, in which he allegedly criticized his teammates for their party-loving lifestyles and lack of focus. The prank was executed with such finesse that it left Ganguly visibly perplexed.

Harbhajan recounted the moment, stating, “The entire team was present when we decided to pull this April Fool’s joke on Dada. Yuvi initiated it by asking, ‘Dada, what is this statement you’ve given to the press?’ He claimed that Ganguly had labeled him a party animal and suggested that other players, including Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, were similarly irresponsible.” Ganguly’s confusion deepened as he questioned the authenticity of the statements, prompting the pranksters to reveal the clippings.

The prank escalated as senior team members Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were in on the joke. They played their parts convincingly, further convincing Ganguly of the clippings' legitimacy. Harbhajan explained, “I had already briefed the seniors about our plan. I asked Paaji (Tendulkar) to intervene, and he said, ‘Dada, if you’ve done this, it’s wrong.’ Rahul also chimed in, reinforcing the ruse.” This collective effort led Ganguly to exclaim, “I swear, I didn’t do this. I’ll give up the captaincy if it’s proven that I did!”

As the prank unfolded, Harbhajan and a few teammates began to gather their bags, pretending to leave the dressing room. Ganguly, now visibly distressed, chased after them, pleading, “Wait, guys! The match is tomorrow. What are you doing?” The ruse finally came to an end when one player broke character and laughed, revealing the truth. Reflecting on the incident, Harbhajan noted, “We realized we had really put this decent man through a lot. If it had been another captain, he might have genuinely sent us away. But Dada was like a big brother to us.”