Sourav Ganguly Birthday: Dada, The Captain Who Took Indian Cricket Out Of The Clutches Of Match Fixing

Sourav Ganguly Birthday: Dada is remembered as a captain who changed the picture of Indian cricket. Ganguly turns 49 today.

Sourav Ganguly Birthday: Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly turned 49 years old. Sourav Ganguly, the current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is counted among the best captains in the world. Ganguly is seen as a leader who took Indian cricket out of the fixing scandal and scripted a new story. 

Sourav Ganguly took charge of Team India in 146 ODIs and 49 Test matches. Under his captaincy, the Indian team managed to win 76 ODIs and 21 Test matches, while they drew 15 Tests. Ganguly not only achieved a historic victory by defeating Australia 2-1 in 2001 but also made it a habit of winning matches on foreign soil. 

He Gave Opportunities to Young Players :

Under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, the Indian cricket team was successful in winning the final match of the NatWest Series. It was the magic of Sourav Ganguly's captaincy that despite a very poor start in the 2003 ODI World Cup, India made it to the semi-finals.

Sourav Ganguly gave young players several opportunities under his captaincy. Under his captaincy, players like Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, MS Dhoni, Mohammad Kaif, and Ashish Nehra managed to claim their spots in Team India. These players later played an important role in India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup.

Their Journey Wasn't Easy

The journey from playing for India to leading the country was not easy for Sourav Ganguly. Sourav Ganguly made his ODI debut in 1992. However, he was dropped from the team after one match. Four years later, in 1996, Sourav Ganguly made a comeback with a bang and made his Test debut, scoring a century at Lord's. 

For the next 10 years, Sourav Ganguly emerged as the biggest player for Team India after Sachin Tendulkar. In 2000, when India was caught in the trap of fixing and Sachin Tendulkar refused to lead the team, Sourav Ganguly was handed the reins. Sourav Ganguly began writing a new script for Team India.

Strong Comeback

Unfortunate times also awaited for Sourav Ganguly. Sourav Ganguly's form deteriorated in 2004. In 2005, after Greg Chappell became the coach, Sourav Ganguly was not only sacked as captain, he also lost his place in the team. 

Sourav Ganguly, however, made a strong comeback on the South Africa tour in 2006. After shining with the bat for the next two years, Sourav Ganguly said goodbye to cricket in 2008.