Prince of Kolkata aka Sourav Ganguly turns 46 on Sunday. Well, who can forget our Dada the ultimate batting legend from West Bengal who brought great transformation under his captaincy as the team emerged as one of the most threatening side and result of which is that India is now completely dominating the world cricket.
Meanwhile, it was interesting to see Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar wishing India’s former captain on his special day. Wow! Sachin had posted his birthday wish on Twitter in Bengali which shows the ultimate bromance between Sachin and Ganguly.
দাদা – আপনার জন্মদিন সুখ আর ভালোবাসায় ভরে উঠুক ।। Wish you a year full of দাদাগিরি, @SGanguly99 ? pic.twitter.com/xDzE2N3NOS
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2018
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Making his debut at a small age of 19 against West Indies in 1992, Ganguly emerged as one of greatest captain India has ever seen. On his birthday, let’s check out the 5 qualities possessed by the former Indian captain which makes him the Real Dada of Indian Cricket:
Sourav Ganguly as The Captain
Our Dada had become a legend during the early 2000s and the ads below prove that how he won everyone’s heart with his fearless attitude. Ganguly’s Test record as captain on foreign soil is still considered the best for any other Indian captain. It was during his captaincy that India had reached the final of 2003 World Cup after 20 years and won the Nat West trophy too.
Well, one must not forget that it was during his captaincy when Ganguly had changed the way India played cricket. Later, he challenged the notion of Indians as ‘Lions at home and Lambs abroad’ and brought a drastic change in the mindset of Indian cricket team.
Further, he famously made the Australian captain Steve Waugh wait for him at toss during 2001 series.
Moreover, who can forget this?
Sourav Ganguly as The Batsman
Very destructive, yeah he was destructive on his day. Jammy aka Rahul Dravid once said, “On the offside, first there is God, then Sourav Ganguly!” His records says it all as he is the 3rd highest run-scorer for India with 18,575 international runs. Further, he is the 12th highest run-scorer of all time in international cricket history. Moreover, he is the only ODI player to win 4 consecutive Man-of-the-Match awards. It was really a treat to watch him batting as he was really a magician with the bat. His famous knock of 183 agains Srilanka in 1999 world cup is still remembered by fans.
Sourav Ganguly as The Fighter
A real cricket fan knows that Ganguly came at that time when it was the lowest phase of Indian cricket. After the infamous match-fixing scandal of some senior players in the team, Dada restored the faith of the fans for the game. In 2005, Ganguly was even axed from the Indian cricket but he bounced back and made a strong comeback. In 2007, he amassed more than 1,000 runs in ODIs and Tests respectively and was the leading run-scorer (2,346) overall in the calendar year.
Sourav Ganguly as The Mentor
It was during Ganguly’s captaincy we saw the likes of Virender Sehwag, Irrfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni who turned out to be the nation heroes. Well, these cricketers played a major role in taking India to a historic win in 2011 world cup.
He would find out the rare qualities of every player and then back him to play a fearless cricket. It is said that he was the one who had advised Sehwag to play as an opening batsman.
Sourav Ganguly as A Human
Yes he is the Tiger of Indian cricket while some call him stubborn and arrogant as well but he has a friendly side too and that is the only reason we love him. You can see him in various interviews when he speaks with humour, wit. Well, we know on the field as a captain but very few know him as human.
Some of the rare ads of Sourav Ganguly which shows how he won every heart during his captaincy.
Watch these videos below:
