London: During a tournament’s final game, many things happen outside the playing area.

Legends of the game, now transformed as commentators, are seen at their eloquent best.

It is a boom time for journalists who are on the lookout for little known facts about players.

The International Cricket Council now assists the media in not only meeting captains or a coach after the match with a post-match press conference, but also brings in players in a mixed zone where a group of players from the match will be available for short question answer sessions.

The ICC official programme books too provides little known information about players.

Kumar Sangakkara is a hero here, but little is known on who was his hero. This little ICC booklet says that it was England’s stylish left-hander David Gower.

Sangakkara, who recently hit his 100th century combined in first class and list-A cricket in the Royal London Cup quarter-final last week, wants the Champions Trophy not to be stopped. “I have always liked the format, eight teams playing each other very quickly in a short time. The quality of cricket that has been on display here has been excellent,” he remarked.

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who is here as a commentator, also likes the Champions trophy. “I have happy memories of this tournament ever since I first played in 1998.” Ganguly’s favourite player is “Sir Viv Richards who was amazing to watch, and Brian Lara after him.”

Do these legends have favourite captains too? Ganguly said it was Sachin Tendulkar. “Sachin was special; maybe his record as a captain wasn’t great, but my career blossomed under him,” said Ganguly, who also named Mahendra Singh Dhoni as one of his favourites. For Sangakkara, it was Sanath Jayasuriya. “Jayasuriya had an amazing knack for winning games.” He also went on to hail Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who impressed with his precocious skills with the bat, also invoked a lot of interest. Azam’s favourite player is AB De Villiers, but he is also fond of Virat Kohli.

Opener Azhar Ali, meanwhile, said that their coach Mickey Arthur is an inspiring man. “After the first game (against India), he kept saying I believe in you. He was brilliant. When we hear that, it gives us confidence,” said Ali.