BCCI President and one of the most revered captains in international cricket, India’s Sourav Ganguly is celebrating his 49th birthday today on July 8.
The left-hander, nicknamed “Prince of Kolkata”, Lovingly known as ‘Dada’, Ganguly made his ODI debut in 1992 against West Indies.
But had to wait four years to make a name for himself, which he did thanks to a debut Test century at Lord’s in 1996, and went onto play 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for India making over 18,500 runs in international cricket with 38 centuries to his name.
He captained India with much success from 2000-2005, taking them to the final of the 2003 World Cup, and 2000 Knockout Trophy, jointly winning the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and numerous other tri-series and bilateral series.
He is widely credited for making the team competitive outside the Indian subcontinent, with strong performances in Australia, England, West Indies, and South Africa under his leadership.
His career took a break after he was dropped from the team in 2005 due to form and tiff with then-coach Greg Chappell. He made a brilliant comeback in 2006 and continued on until 2008. He retired from international cricket with 11363 runs in 311 ODIs with 22 centuries and 7212 runs in 113 Tests with 16 centuries.
He continued playing cricket till 2012, in the Indian Premier League, where he led Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural IPL 2008 and then played for Pune Warriors as well.
Sourav Ganguly recalls how Sachin Tendulkar helped him relax after debut ton at Lord's
After retirement from playing, Ganguly continued to be associated with cricket, becoming the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and then became the BCCI President.
Today he celebrates his 49th birthday, he received wishes on Twitter from his former teammates and members of the Indian cricket fraternity.
Here are the tweets:
