Biography of Sourav Ganguly:-Sourav Ganguly was born in Kolkata on 8 July 1972 in a Bengali family. Sourav Ganguly was a delightful batsman to watch, he has millions of fans, his skills to drive the ball to the off-side, perfectness to handle the swing, and ducking before bouncers were few of his rare skills we can never overlook.
Ganguly was forged by God to play the game at its best, he was a God-gifted player made for the limited format, a great leader for the Indian team, and a savior at the time of crises.
Biography of Sourav Ganguly
- Born:- 8 July 1972 (age 44), Behala, Kolkata, India
- Height:- 1.8 m
- Full Name:- Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
- Spouse:- Dona Roy (m. 1997)
- Number:- 24 (Pune Warriors India / All-rounder, Batsman)
- Siblings:- Snehasish Ganguly
Some percentage of Sachin’s success could be given to Sourav Ganguly’s supporting role at the other end. He, along with Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar made some of the critical and historical partnerships while opening the innings.
After successfully being launched into test cricket, Sourav Ganguly confirmed the berth in the squad by making a dominant 100-run innings on his debut, that too at Lords’ that kick started the career Ganguly needed, he scored another ton in the very next match.
Most of his teammates know him as ‘Dada’ or ‘Elder Brother,’ he is current chairman of Bengal Cricket Association, member of the anti-corruption and anti-spot fixing committee appointed by Supreme Court of India, and a member of governing council of Indian Premier League. India trusts him, he never let them down, and he tumbled but never fell from a stature India gave him.
Also known as ‘The Prince of Calcutta,’ the left-handed Sourav Ganguly was third to reach 10,000 ODI runs, he was ranked sixth among the greatest ODI batsmen of all times by Wisden, the most reliable cricket panel.
Once lured to cricket by his elder brother, Dada scored those 11,000 runs in One Day International cricket solely on his consistent and robust technique. He is still the 8th highest run-scorer in ODIs. Ganguly was the force behind India’s success overseas after Sachin left captaincy.
He led India to overseas and home victories. Sourav Ganguly still holds the record for the most successful Indian captain regarding test and overseas wins.
Ganguly XI made it to the finals of ICC World Cup 2003. He polished and helped the young ones in the team to become future superstars and ultimately the World Cup winners.
In 2004, Sourav Ganguly was awarded Padma Shri Award owing to his unprecedented abilities serving team India. He made every man in blue proud and is still doing that, now as a selector and a mentor for budding cricketers.
Sourav Ganguly has set standards so high in his territory in Bengal that it is evident that the next Sachin and Ganguly will raise from Bengal.
Early Career
Sourav Ganguly was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. He was a ‘Maharaja’ of Kolkata since childhood. Cricket was Ganguly’s passion, and his father took every step to make it happen. After father’s death, Snehashish supported him to pursue cricket as a future career.
Ganguly was a right-hand batsman when he was in metric. In 1989, Sourav Ganguly made his first-class debut for Bengal. In the upcoming Ranji Trophy in the1990-91 season, Ganguly was the only player in Bengal who was of merit to become an International player.
After making ODI debut in 1992, he was dropped for his arrogance and attitude towards his teammate. Sourav Ganguly refused to carry drinks and stuff during breaks as a twelfth man that resulted in his exclusion.
The next two seasons in Ranji Trophy were even more impressive and promised for Sourav Ganguly. He was too good to be rejected, his centuries in Duleep trophy continued in the1995-96season, and finally, the arrogant young brat was recalled by Indian Cricket Board for a series against England.
Sourav Ganguly made his Test debut as a replacement for N. Sidhu and scored a century on debut becoming the third batsman to score a hundred on debut at Lords’.
In the third test match, his second in Test career, he smashed another ton at Trent Bridge. He became the third batsman to score a hundred in his back-to-back first innings.
In 1997, Sourav Ganguly registered his first ODI century against Sri Lanka, he was not going good in test cricket at that time. He returned to form later in 1997 when Sachin and Ganguly made another 250+ partnership against Sri Lanka.
In 1999 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly made a record of highest individual score in World Cups, his 183 runs included 17 fours and 7 sixes, both Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly shared a record partnership of 318 runs. In the year 2000, Ganguly was number one in batsmen rankings, thanks to his five centuries in the season. His form in test cricket was opposite of it.
Most Successful Indian Captain
The match-fixing scandal led to a clean-up operation in team India, Sachin stepped down from captaincy, and Sourav Ganguly was the only choice left for Indian cricket team officials.
His first series win was against South Africa, the next big thing was India reaching the finals of ICC Knockout Trophy. In the final match, Sourav scored a century in a losing cause.
In the upcoming Natwest Series in 2002 that was played in England, India won unbelievably, thanks to Yuvraj Singh and Muhammad Kaif’s partnership. Ganguly, in response to Andrew Flintoff, the then captain of England, took off his shirt and waved it towards Flintoff and English fans.
The provocative act was defended by Sourav Ganguly by saying that the act was a reaction to the one carried out by Flintoff. In 2003, World Cup, India finally reached the final after 20 years but beaten badly by Aussies in the all-important final match.
In the final of world cup 2003, Virender Sehwag wicket were so crucial for India as Sehwag got run out, India left the track. Dada scored 456 runs averaging 58 with the bat.
After the World Cup 2003, Ganguly did not have a form that he needed. He was finally dropped for his lack of interest as a captain in 2005. He was having the worst form of his career and was rested for a series or two.
After a forced comeback, Ganguly was trapped in a serious controversy with Greg Chappel, the coach of India. The news was a wildfire in the jungle, BCCI took action and asked both the parties to appear before the board. Ultimately, Ganguly dropped again for his bad attitude and arrogance.
In World Cup 2007, India was unbelievably out of the tournament after pool stages, Indian fans tried to burn players houses, and Ganguly’s house was first one on the list.
Later in December 2007, Sourav Ganguly posted his first double century against arch-rivals Pakistan. Apart from the World Cup 2007, the year was one of the best seasons for him. He was a second highest run scorer in Tests.
IPL Career and Retirement
IPL started in 2008; Sourav Ganguly joined in as a captain of his hometown Kolkata Knight Riders. In the same year, Ganguly retired from Test cricket after the successful Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2-0, Ganguly made his final hundred in the second Test match.
After retirement, Sourav Ganguly was appointed Chairman of Cricket Development Committee of CAB. IN 2010, Sourav Ganguly was made the captain of KKR after a year’s break, in the fourth season, he played for Pune Warriors. Ganguly retired from IPL in 2012.
Sourav Ganguly Stats & Records
In 113 test matches, Ganguly scored 7,212 runs, 16 centuries, and 35 half-centuries with a batting average of 42. His highest score was 239 against Pakistan. In 311 ODIs, Ganguly amassed 11,363 runs at a batting average of 41 and scored 22 hundred and 72 fifties.
His topscore of 183 came against Sri Lanka in 1999 World Cup. In 254 first-class matches, Sourav Ganguly had 15,000+ runs at an average 44 with 33 centuries and 89 half-centuries.
In 77 T20 matches including his International and IPL games combined, Sourav Ganguly scored 1726 with a batting average of 25 and the highest score of 91.
Sourav was an occasional bowler in Test and ODI cricket. In 113 test matches, Ganguly gathered 32 wickets. His 100 wickets in ODIs are most notable with a 5-wicket haul and an overall economy just above 5.
Sourav Ganguly holds the record of best captain for India overseas. Out of 49 test matches, India won 21 under his captaincy. The overseas record is even better than that with 11 victories out of 28 games, most by any Indian captain since Independence.
Sourav Ganguly is also the only ODI cricketer to win four men of the match awards consecutively in ODI format. He is also the fastest batsman to 9000 runs in One Day Internationals.
Sourav Ganguly Family and Personal Life
In 1997, Sourav Ganguly faced strong opposition by family not to marry his present wife, Dona Roy. After neutralizing the strong opposition, Sourav Ganguly got married in February 1997 after England tour. Dona is Ganguly’s childhood lover and friend. Their daughter, Sana Ganguly was born in 2001.
The autobiography of Sourav Ganguly, ‘A Century is not enough’ was launched in 2017 by Juggernaut Books, written and edited by Sourav Ganguly and co-authored by Gautam Bhattacharya, a renowned sports journalist, and writer.
