Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, who is also known as ‘Dada’ is the former Indian skipper and the 39th President of BCCI and a commentator. He is one of the world’s leading batsmen and captains of the Indian national team. He was born on 8th July 1972 in Kolkata, India. He is a left-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler. Sourav Ganguly initially played football as his favourite sport in his childhood. Now we will share with you some facts about his international debut, his captaincy, his records, achievements and awards.
He made his international debut against West Indies in 1992. In his first match, he came to bat at number six in a one-day international (ODI) and scored just three runs in the Gabba, Brisbane. He was dropped for his arrogant behaviour towards the game. After he was dropped, he went back to a domestic tournament in 1995-96 Duleep Trophy and smashed 171 runs and got a call to join back Indian team.
In his Test debut, he scored 131 runs against England along with his partner Rahul Dravid’s 95 runs, who also was on debut in Lords. Again in the next test match, Ganguly scored 136 runs and became the third batsman to score centuries in the first two innings.
Sourav Ganguly was one of the most successful captains India ever got. As a captain in his first match, he led the Indian team to victory over South Africa in a five-match ODI series. He also led India to ICC KnockOut Trophy 2000 but lost to New Zealand. Under his captaincy, India chased Australia’s streak of winning 16 consecutive Test matches in 2001. Ganguly also led the Indian team to the finals of the ICC ODI World Cup 2003. It was the first time since the 1983 World Cup but was defeated by Australia.
Sourav Ganguly was the most successful Test captain and remained for a long-time. India had won 11 games in 28 matches under his captaincy. In ODI, he is the only cricketer to win four consecutive Man of the Match awards. He was the fastest batsman to score 9,000 runs in ODI. Later his record was broken by AB De Villiers. In the history of the ICC Champions Trophy, he was the first player to score three centuries. He also holds the record of the highest individual score of 117 runs in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy. In the nine cricketers in the world, Sourav Ganguly has scored a century and taken four wickets in a single match.
He has been awarded the Arjuna Award, CEAT Indian Captain of the Year, Padma Shri 2004, Rammohan Roy Award. He has received 31 ODI Man of the Match awards and six in Tests. On 20th May 2013, he was awarded Banga Bibhushan Award by the government of West Bengal.
Many cricketers wished him on his 49th birthday. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag posted a photo of him and captioned, “Dada ki gaadi mein savaar hoke, dada ke saath hi ride par. That’s what the ride was with Sourav Ganguly for those 5 years. Wish you good health and happiness Dada in the coming year #happybirthdaydada.”
Not only Sehwag but his partner Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar also wished him on Instagram and captioned, “আমার প্রিয় দাদি। শুভ জন্মদিন। আপনার সামনে একটি স্বাস্থ্যকর এবং সুখী বছর কামনা করি|My beloved Dadi. Happy birthday. Wishing you a healthy and happy year ahead.”
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh also wished him on Instagram by posting and captioning, “Happy birthday captain. Love always Sourav Ganguly #tiger.”