The legendary former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly turned 48 on Wednesday, and the Indian cricket fraternity took to social media to extend birthday wishes.
Touted to be one of the best captains the country has ever produced, Ganguly is widely credited for making India an aggressive side and instilling belief in the team that they could win overseas conditions as well.
Sachin Tendulkar was among the first ones to extend birthday wishes to his former opening partner. "Happy birthday Dadi! Hope our off-field partnership keeps going strong like our on-field ones. Wish you a blessed year ahead," Tendulkar said on Twitter.
"Many more happy returns of the day Sourav Ganguly. May you taste ever more success and receive more and more love. Have a great day and year ahead #HappyBirthdayDada," said VVS Laxman.
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Mohammad Kaif wrote: "From a fine batsman to an outstanding captain & now leading Indian cricket on the whole-here's wishing my favourite captain & mentor Sourav Ganguly a very happy birthday. But FAULADI SEENA dikha ke aise kaun chadhta hai, Dada #HappyBirthdayDada."
"Wishing a very happy birthday to the most dynamic and visionary captain of his time. It's a matter of immense pleasure to work with the man who took Indian cricket to new heights. Subho Janmodin Sourav Ganguly," tweeted BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.
"Leader of Men. God of off-side. Fighter. Happy Birthday, Dada. #HappyBirthdayDada," said Aakash Chopra.
Ishant Sharma said: "Shubho Jonmodin Dada Sourav Ganguly. A true inspiration for many! Lots of love and best wishes to you! Have a great #QuarantineBirthday!"
"Happy birthday dada! From a great captain to a brilliant administrator, you have donned them magnificently. Hope you continue your good work for the betterment of Indian cricket... Godspeed. Sourav Ganguly #HappyBirthdayDada," tweeted Pragyan Ojha.
Putting out various important achievements of Ganguly, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle wrote: "Third-fastest to 10,000 ODI runs. Holds the record for the highest individual score in CWC for India. 2003 ICC World Cup runner-up. Captained India to 11 wins in 28 overseas Tests. Happy birthday to one of India's most successful captains, Sourav Ganguly."
Popularly known as 'Dada', he had made his Test debut against England in the summer of 1996. He immediately made headlines as he went on to score a century in his maiden Test at Lord's. The left-handed batsman also went on to score a century in his second Test. Thus, he became only the third batsman to score a century in each of his first two innings.
The 'Prince of Kolkata' then announced himself in the ODI format as he won four consecutive Man of the Match awards in 1997. In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, Ganguly played a knock of 183 runs against Sri Lanka and was involved in a 318-run partnership with Rahul Dravid. In 2000, the match-fixing scandal engulfed the Indian camp and Ganguly was then made the captain of the side. It was a herculean task to manage the team in turbulent times.
The former skipper played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for India. The left-handed batsman scored 18,575 runs across all formats in his international career. Ganguly had led India in 195 matches across all formats and managed to win 97 matches out of those.
(Inputs from Agencies)
