From his century on debut at Lord’s to those elegant off-side strokes that defined his career, Sourav Ganguly was always about making an immediate impact. Ganguly’s stint as captain, just after Indian cricket had been hit hard by the match-fixing scandal in 2000, brought belief back in the team and the game. And for most fans, that will always rank amongst his greatest achievements.
Read: Ganguly’s masterclass on batting, which showed there was a method to his legend
The belief was a direct consequence of the manner Ganguly carried himself on and off the field. The absolute confidence raised Indian from being a ‘nice’ team to one that wanted to beat down the opposition.
At the same time, the captaincy was only one part of the Ganguly legend. He was the top ODI run-scorer for the eight-year period starting from 1997 and formed the most prolific ODI pairing with Sachin Tendulkar.
Watch: The Sourav Ganguly interview: ‘Cricket is a captain’s game, the coach has to take a step behind’
And he isn’t quite done with Indian cricket yet. As Board of Control for Cricket in India president, he continues to try to put players on the forefront of the game in India.
As Ganguly turns 48, here’s how Twitter is celebrating his birthday:
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