Sourav Ganguly Turns 49: Have a look at the five unknown facts about the Prince of Kolkata!
Sourav Ganguly, affectionately known as ‘Dada’ among the admirers of the sport is regarded as one of India’s greatest captains. Known for his aggressive and never-give-up spirit, Ganguly is said to have changed the face of cricket in India.
Popularly honoured as Maharaja of Indian Cricket, Ganguly led India in 146 ODIs and 49 Test Matches. It was under his captaincy in which India famously ended Australia’s incredible 16 Test – Winning streak during the home series in 2001, beating the Australian side by 2-1 margin.
Having scored more than 18,000 runs in International Cricket, Ganguly was also given the title of ‘The God Of Off Side’ for his elegant stroke play square of the wicket and through the covers.
Ganguly led India for more than five years during which the Indian Cricket Team reached the World Cup Finals in 2003. The fighting spirit and the confidence Ganguly instilled in the team to conquer series in overseas soil is something that is benefiting the Team Indian even today.
Under Ganguly, Team India learned to fight and give it back to the opposition whenever needed. We still can’t forget the memorable moment when Ganguly famously took off his shirt and waved it in celebration inside the Lord’s balcony after the win in the NatWest Trophy final against England.
Ganguly is currently the eighth highest run-scorer in One Day Internationals and was the third batsman in the history to cross the 10,000 runs after Sachin Tendulkar and Inzamam Ul Haq.
It is true to say that, Sourav Ganguly’s decisions have impacted Indian cricket a lot and his risks have reaped a lot of rewards for the team in a big way.
Sourav Ganguly might have called time on his international career in August 2008, but still, he holds a special place in the hearts of the cricket admirers. Post-retirement, Ganguly joined the Commentary Team and even in the commentary box, there were numerous instances where he had the last laugh.
Saurav Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India’s highest civilian awards. Ganguly was even honoured with the Banga Bibhushan Award from the Government of West Bengal on 20 May 2013.
After many commentary stints post-retirement, Ganguly entered cricket administration and became the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2015. He served the board for four years before starting his next big innings by becoming the president of The Board of Control for Cricket in India in October 2019.
But the aforementioned things are something many of us are aware of Sourav Ganguly. So on the occasion of Sourav Ganguly’s 49th Birthday, here we present you five unknown facts about the ‘Prince of Kolkata’
1. Sourav’s Batting Style!
Sourav Ganguly is a legendary cricketer undoubtedly. He has made everyone amazed with his knocks and skills in the field. But do you know? In his initial Cricketing Days, Sourav Ganguly was a right-hand batsman but later he transformed himself into a left-hand batsman. As a fun fact, he became a left-handed batsman so that he could then use his brother’s cricket gear.
2. A Football Fan at Heart.
Surprised? It’s true Sourav Ganguly loved playing football. He developed a keen interest in cricket by the time he reached 14 years old but before that, he had always aspired to play football. Ganguly even represented his school as a football captain. Along with Harshvardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh, and Spanish La Liga Side Atletico De Madrid, Ganguly became the co-owner of Atletico De Kolkata, a football franchise of the Indian Super League, which won the inaugural season in 2014.
3. ‘Prince of Calcutta’
Sourav Ganguly was named ‘ Prince of Calcutta’ by the former England cricketer, Geoffrey Boycott. But he was nicknamed as ‘ Maharaj’ even before that, during his childhood by his father.
4. Bollywood Style Marriage
Sourav Ganguly and his wife Dona were childhood lovers. After Ganguly returned from his debut England Test Tour, he eloped with his girlfriend Dona and got married secretly as the families were not on the speaking terms. However, later on, their families accepted them and they lived happily ever after.
5. Love for Biryani
Biryani is the most favourite food of our Kolkata’s Maharaj. But he also loves eating ‘aloo posto’ and ‘chingri malaikari’
On his birthday, NLC Wishes the Man Who Revolutionised the Indian Cricket Sourav Ganguly a fantastic year ahead.