Devang Gandhi at a press conference on Tuesday

Calcutta: Former India opener Devang Gandhi feels that Sourav Ganguly was the best captain he played under during his 12-year first-class career. “Sourav was definitely the best captain I played under,” Devang said while announcing his retirement at a press conference on Tuesday.

The former Bengal skipper added he had drawn inspiration from several others, including Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar. “My cricket has been influenced by so many people and taking names will be a tough task, but during my stint in the national squad, Rahul, Anil, Sachin and, of course, Sourav were very supportive,” he remarked.

Devang’s biggest regret is not having made a Test hundred. “I should have converted those 70s and 80s into hundreds,” said the 34-year-old, who scored 75 in his maiden Test against New Zealand in Chandigarh in 1999-2000, followed by an 88 in Kanpur.

In four Tests, Devang averaged 34, but in three ODIs he managed just over 16 per innings. “I still wonder how I missed those hundreds. I will rate the Kanpur innings as the best of my career as that was a difficult wicket and I was top-scorer for India in that match,” he stated.

“I would also have been happier had I helped Bengal win the Ranji Trophy at least once,” he added.

The right-handed opener isn’t, however, mothballing his kits. “I will continue playing cricket and also visit England to take part in league cricket there this time too,” he informed.

He does have coaching in mind as a career option, though he doesn’t want to take the plunge immediately. He has already completed the Level II coaches’ course from the ECB. “I have completed Level II, but I won’t be doing justice to the kids as I will not be able to give them enough time. I will concentrate on coaching only when I give up the game fully,” Devang said firmly.

As to why he decided to quite first-class cricket, Devang mentioned lack of motivation. “I think I am not getting enough motivation. Also the youngsters in Bengal have made their presence felt and helped me take this decision,” Devang explained.

Recalling his disappointment when he was dropped from the Indian squad, Devang said: “True I couldn’t perform upto expectations, but it still is a mystery to me why I was dropped from the Challenger Trophy squads immediately after the Aussie tour. It was disturbing. After playing for the country in four Tests, I was suddenly not even in the top-36,” he said.

Devang, who scored a hundred on first-class debut and averaged over 42, would like to be remembered as “a guy who tried.”