'A True Legend, Backed Cricketers From Interior India': Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina Lead Birthday Wishes for Sourav Ganguly

Legendary captain and one of India’s finest cricketers Sourav Ganguly turns 51 today. Ganguly arrived on the international stage as a talented batter and went on to become one of the greatest India captains.

Ganguly made his international debut in 1992 but it was his other debut that has become a stuff of legends. Playing in his first Test, the left-handed batter scored a century at Lord’s announcing his arrival in style.

He was often referred to as ‘God of Offside’ thanks to his dominant strokeplay in that region of cricket field.

Ganguly’s sparkling record speaks for itself but he left a deeper impact through his captaincy and the steady stream of talented players who arrived and blossomed on the international stage under his watch.

After establishing himself as a regular across formats, the team management saddled him with the additional responsibility of captaincy in the aftermath of the 2000 fixing scandal that shocked Indian cricket to its core.

Ganguly began a legendary rein that saw him lead India to a famous 2-1 Test series win over the all-conquering Australian team in 2001 including the Eden Gardens Test where his team bounced back after following on.

Under him, India made it to the final of the ODI World Cup in 2003 – the second time they had done in their history. A year before, India were declared joint winners of the Champions Trophy alongside Sri Lanka after rain washed out the final and the reserve day.

After his career suffered a setback that coincided with the rein of Greg Chappell as India head coach, Ganguly fought back and made a memorable comeback before retiring from international cricket in 2008.

He led Kolkata Knight Riders and the now defunct Pune Warriors India during his IPL career as well and retired from all forms of cricket in 2012.

He then dabbled in administration and commentary, eventually becoming the BCCI president.