Ganguly Turns 52: Reflecting On Dada’s Illustrious Career
Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, celebrated for instilling a sense of belief and pride back into Indian cricket turns 52 today.
Dubbed the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ by former England captain Geoffrey Boycott, Ganguly stepped into the captaincy role four years after his memorable Test debut at Lord’s, where he notched up a century against England.
He took over the reins in 2000 during a tumultuous period for Indian cricket, which was recovering from a match-fixing scandal. Ganguly began cultivating young talent, with stars like Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh emerging under his mentorship.
During Ganguly’s tenure, India reached the finals of the ICC Knockout Trophy in 2000, followed by a famous Test series victory over Australia, winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 win at home.
One of the most unforgettable moments in Indian cricket history occurred in 2002 when Ganguly famously took off his shirt from the Lord’s balcony after India’s dramatic comeback win against England in the NatWest Trophy final.
The prince led India to the World Cup finals in 2003, where they narrowly lost to Australia. In 2004, he captained India to an ODI and Test series victory in Pakistan, marking India’s first Test series win on Pakistani soil.
The years 2005-06 were tough for Dada, as tensions with then-coach Greg Chappell led to his exclusion from the team. Nevertheless, he made a triumphant return and played his final Test in 2008, retiring from international cricket as India’s most successful captain at that time.
Ganguly continued to play in the Indian Premier League until 2012.
During his illustrious career, Ganguly played 113 Tests and 311 One-Day Internationals for India, amassing 18,575 runs across all formats. As captain, Ganguly led India in 195 matches across all formats, winning 97 of them.
Following his retirement, Ganguly transitioned into cricket administration. He first led the Cricket Association of Bengal before becoming the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
As the BCCI president, he also played a pivotal role in advocating for day-night Test cricket in India, culminating in the historic day-night Test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in 2019.
Sourav’s term as BCCI president ended in 2022. Since then, he has been serving as the Director of Cricket for the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.
