He is an astute leader of men, amiable, highly articulate, well educated and at certain stages, runs do flow from his bat, as a ‘Ganga’ flows.

It’s a pity though, that at the highest level, he has not been able to be consistent with the bat.

The team that won the hearts of fans most at the Champions League Twenty20 tournament held in India recently, according to many writers, was Daren Ganga’s Trinidad & Tobago outfit.

According to more than one report, skipper Ganga and his team played Calypso-style cricket, with a smile on their face and a song in the heart.

Ganga superbly led T&T to a surprise runner-up finish and won US$1.3 million at the Champions League after arriving early October in India as huge underdogs.

Playing confident, attacking cricket, T&T reeled off upset wins over reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Deccan Chargers and England’s Somerset to top Group ‘A’ before defeating New South Wales (NSW), the eventual champions and the Eagles (South Africa) in the Super 8 round.

Under the 30-year-old’s leadership, the Caribbean T20 champions whipped South Africa’s Cape Cobras in the semi-final before losing a re-match with NSW in the final.

Ganga is widely regarded as the best team-leader in West Indies cricket, though the laid back Chris Gayle leads the team that is now in Australia for a series of matches, which includes Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s. Ganga’s flair and track record as captain of T&T would support that view, but his potential to flourish in that role at international level has been foiled by his inability to command a place in the West Indies team.

His small taste of the West Indies captaincy, so far, has also been less than stellar. Following an injury to captain Ramnaresh Sarwan on the 2007 tour of England, he led the side in the last two Tests of the series, where the West Indies lost by 60 runs and seven wickets, respectively.

His personal form also suffered then, as he managed only 11 runs from four innings.

But he has enjoyed much success at regional level, leading T&T to several titles in recent years.

Former West Indies wicketkeeper Derryck Murray, president of the T&T Cricket Board, recently glorified Ganga’s captaincy, saying the top-order batsman has shown "great leadership qualities" and has clearly inspired his players.

"He has instilled positive team spirit and high morale values to the team, which is an example for the other Caribbean territories to follow," Murray said.

A few years ago, I had the privilege and the pleasant experience of talking to Daren Ganga, face to face, at the Taj Samudra Hotel, in Colombo, when he was at the helm of the West Indies ‘A’ team which toured Sri Lanka, for a series of games against Sri Lanka ‘A’, then captained by the now retired Russel Arnold.

I have nothing but respect for Ganga for the way he spoke, his attitude towards cricket and life in general, his lack of airs and many other factors.

Daren Ganga was born January 14, 1979, in a village called Barrackpore, in Trinidad & Tobago, to Ramesh and Seerajie Ganga. He has Indian roots.

An uncle, Mahendra Ganga, is a former Under-19 player while Ganga’s brothers, Sheldon and Sherwin have represented the West Indies at Under-15 level. Sherwin later went on to play first class cricket for Trinidad & Tobago. Daren Ganga was educated at various institutions, the Rio Claro Vedic School in Barrackpore, St. Stephen’s College and Naparima College. Despite playing for Trinidad & Tobago at Under-14 level, he was omitted from the Under-15 squad for a series in Grenada in 1995. He was however recognised by a scout from Georgetown and the Secondary Schools Cricket Council appointed him captain of the Under-16 schoolboy’s team which toured England.

The right hand bat and part time off spinner made his West Indies debut as a 19-year-old. In 2006, he was named West Indies Players’ Association ‘Test Player of the Year.

Debut season for Trinidad

Ganga made his first-class debut for Trinidad & Tobago on February 21, 1997, against Guyana at Queen’s Park Oval, aged 18. His team-mates included Phil Simmons, Brian Lara, Mervyn Dillon and Ian Bishop. He only managed one half century in the series, an innings of 54 against Guyana. The following season, in the West Indies Board President’s Cup 1997/98, he made his breakthrough. After making 68 against Jamaica earlier in the series, but nothing else substantial, he came into Trinidad & Tobago’s final game needing a big score. Playing against Barbados, Ganga batted at number 4 and came in with his side in trouble at 3 for 33. He top scored with 138 and helped his country win the game by one wicket.

In August 1998, Ganga was named in the West Indies squad for their tour of South Africa. At the age of 19, he was the youngest Trinidad & Tobago player in 35 years to make the Test side. He made a half century in the opening warm up game against Griqualand West, but failed against Border and South Africa ‘A’.