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Sourav Ganguly in brief: If you only a few seconds read this

Sourav Ganguly is the former captain of the Indian Cricket Team. He is a left-handed batsman and is considered as one of the most successful Indian cricket captains. He is currently the 5th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests. In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs Ganguly is only behind Sachin Tendulkar among Indians and and the fourth in the world. Sourav Ganguly is the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

For a more complete look at Sourav’s life and times read this:

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly - Kolkata’s Beloved Dada

Sourav’s Family Background:

Sourav was born on 3rd July 1973 into a very rich family. He was a born leader.

Sourav’s full name is Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. He had plenty of nicknames, the most popular among them include - Dada, Prince of Kolkata, Bengal Tiger, and Maharaj. He was born in Calcutta now known as Kolkata, in a joint family consisting of 30 members. The family’s annual income was Rs. 80 crore. Quite rich by any standard. The family lives in a palatial four floor building consisting of 45 rooms. The Gangulys are among the 5 richest families in Kolkata.

Sourav’s father’s Chandidas Ganguly and mother Nirupa Ganguly have two sons. Sourav, is the second of two. His father Chandidas Ganguly runs a flourishing printing business which is ranked third largest in Asia.

Sourav’s parents wanted him to be an engineer or a doctor like any other normal Indian parents. But, Sourav was more interested in sports right from childhood. The influence of his elder brother who is an established cricketer of West Bengal was strong on young Sourav. His elder brother has drawn him into cricket. Sourav’s first love was football. He played football till the age of thirteen. Even now football fascinates him more than cricket. He prefers watching football to cricket on TV. His favorite position in football was that of a striker.

Sourav’s Style of play

Sourav is a left-handed batsman and right arm medium pace bowler. In batting he has specialized to play off-side. His favorite shots which, he executes with elegance are the square cuts, square drives and cover drives. Initially he had weakness in pulling or hooking the ball. Equally he faced difficulties in playing short pitched balls and bouncers which has cost him lot in his career. Australia and South Africa have exploited his weakness to their best advantage. However he has overcome his weakness with intense practice. He has an excellent footwork He can play on front or back foot with ease. If one watches Sourav’s focused eyes while batting, one is reminded of Ravi Shastry.

Sourav’s partners at non-strikers-end are at always at higher risk and are to be on alert. He will be in great hurry in calling his partner for non existing singles and turn them back without any consideration. As a result the batsman at non-striker-end gets run out.

Sourav is very successful right arm medium pace bowler. He can swing and seam the ball both ways with ease. On many occasions he has taken very crucial wickets.

Sourav’s Induction to Cricket:

Snehashish is the elder brother of Sourav. He is five year elder to him. Snehashish had established a niche in West Bengal Team, as an accomplished left handed batsman. He was a regular Ranji Trophy player. He had a lot of influence on his younger brother. During Sourav’s school holidays, he asked his father to get Sourav enrolled in a cricket coaching camp to which his father had readily agreed. .

Snehashishs had an immense influence on Sourav. Snehashishs influence was so great that he has not only adopted cricket for his future career but also his style of play. Sourav is a natural right hander but he has learned to bat with left hand from his elder brother. Initially it was to use his brother’s cricket gear but later it has become a habit. Sourav does everything else, including writing and bowling with his right hand. It is ironical that later his elder brother has to lose his place from West Bengal Cricket Team to make a way for his younger brother based on his brother’s better performance

Encouragement from his Father.

As Sourav has showed good promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. His rich father has created all that his two sporting sons required to come up in their choice field of sports. He built an indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket at home. In turn his sons have made best use of them. Snehashish has become a West Bengal Ranji player and Sourav has become the captain of St Xavier’s School cricket team. When Sourav was selected for U-15 team, he scored a century against the Orrisa and got into prominence.

Sourav’s Debut to International cricket and Setback:

In the year 1992, Sourav was selected to tour West Indies as a member ODI Team. His performance in his first match was not impressive and was dropped for the rest of matches. In this match he scored 3 runs. The other reason for dropping him was said to be due to his arrogance attitude and his lack of respect for seniors. Subsequent to this, for next four years he could not get a chance to represent national team. Sourav is said to be the victim of his own arrogance attitude which is haunting him even today.

Sourav Bounces Back:

Sourav could not be over looked for long. He was constantly knocking at the doors of selectors with his exceptionally good performance at domestic fixtures. Finally he got a call from selectors to join Indian Team touring England 1996.

In first test he was not in playing eleven. In second test he made his debut at Lords. He opened the innings along with Rahul Dravid. Sourav seized this opportunity with his both the hands. He scored 131 runs in debut test. Sourav’s 131 runs on his debut at Lord’s is a record as on today. No other batsman has made 131 on his debut at Lords. His performances in rest of the matches were also superb. He was named the ‘Man of the Series’.

There after Sourav hasn’t looked back until the differences with Greg Chappell leaked to public and media had a very badly effecting his career. On November 22, 2005, after five years reigning as a captain, he lost his captainship. The selectors have pick Rahul Dravid to lead India in the Tests against Sri Lanka replacing Sourav.
Today, he has many records to his name which speaks in volume about his mastery over cricket.

Sourav as a Captain ( 2000- 2005)

If any one thinks of most prominent batsman of India, names of Gavaskar and Sachin’s comes to mind. If one thinks of most prominent bowlers of India, the names of Kumble, Kapil Dev and Vinoo Mankad, comes to our mind. And if any one thinks of the most prominent Captain of India, the name of the one and the only one name comes to our mind is that of Sourav Ganguly. He is the most successful and undisputed captain of India ever produced.

Sourav led India in 49 test matches and won 21 of them. No other captain could achieve this triumph. In ODI format, he led 147 matches and won 76. His record win in ODI is the second best. Mohammad Azharuddin ranks first with is most wins as a captain. Azharuddin led India in 173 ODI matches and won 89.

Tendulkar’s sudden resignation, has forced the selectors to nominate his deputy, Sourav as the captain of Indian Team on 26th February 2000, for both test and ODI formats. This was during five-ODI home series against South Africa. India has won this closely fought series. Sourav was the top run getter in the series. After this series he was named a full-time captain and continued up to 2005.

He came into prominence after the victory over Pakistan in Pakistan. This victory over their arch rivals was first away from home in 11 years. Under his stewardship, India started winning Test matches away and at home. After the winning eight-match continuously he took the Team India to the doorsteps of World Cup final in 2003.

In spite of his illustrious leadership and personal contribution with bat and ball, the differences with Greg Chappell have adversely affected his career. Sourav after reigning for five years as a captain handed over the charge of captainship to Rahul Dravid on November 22, 2005.

Sourav’s ODI Career

Contrary to Sourav’s International test debut, his debut to ODI was disappointing. Following an excellent Ranji season in 1990-91, he got a call from national selectors and made his One Day International debut for India, against West Indies in 1992. On his debut, he scored only three runs. He was dropped for the rest of the matches. It is presumed that he was dropped more for his attitude than his performance. It is believed that he was dropped for arrogant behavior and lack of respect for seniors.

After his failure debut of West Indies tour, he had to wait for 5 long years to get re-entry to India team. During this period, he was actively participated in domestic competitions and was doing exceptionally well. In 1997 his in peak form at domestic level, he received a call from national selectors to play against Sri Lanka. In opening match he scored 113 of team’s total of 238. Later in the Sahara Cup, playing against Pakistan he claimed 5 wickets giving away 16 runs in 10 over. In the entire series, he scored 222 runs averaging 55.5 and taking total of 15 wickets at 10.66. He won four Man-of-the-Match awards in five matches, and was the Man of the Series, as India beat Pakistan 4-1.

In January 1998, in the finals of the Independence Cup at Dhaka, against Pakistan, he scored 124 runs. India had successfully chased 315 off 48 over to win Independence Cup and he won the ‘Man of the match’ award. In the same year playing against Sri Lanka for the Singer-Akai-Nidahas Trophy he opened the innings with Sachin and piled up 252 runs. In this match Sachin made 128 runs and Sourav 109.The final match was won by six runs.

In the 1999 World Cup, Sourav scored 183 in 158 balls against Sri Lanka at Taunton, Somerset in England. The score 83 balls included 17 fours and 7 sixes. It is the second highest in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest ever in the World Cup and is the second highest in all ODIs.

Sourav had the taste of captaincy in September 1999 while playing Coca-Cola Singapore Challenge tournament, against West Indies. He got this opportunity of lead India as the regular captain, Sachin Tendulkar was rested due to a sore back. Barely a week later, he had leads India in the DMC Cup. He got this chance as Tendulkar skipped of the tournament could not play due to an injury - against West Indies. India wins the series 2-1.

When Tendulkar quit the post of captaincy Sourav was named as a captain of the Indian team for the five-ODI home series against South Africa. Sourav led the Indian team to victory. In the entire series he was the top run-getter.

By 2005 the success curve of Sourav started dipping. The signs of his decline are obvious after a dismal showing in a drawn series at home against Pakistan In the entire series he made only 48 run After the fourth ODI against Pakistan, with the six-match ODI series tied 2-2, he was banned for six matches for a slow-over rate. India went down 2-4 to Pakistan. A slow hundred against a depleted Zimbabwe-2005 sends the critics into raptures. Sourav has gone public stating that as per the suggestion of his coach Greg Chappell he struck to the crease as a captain to avoid possible batting collapse Though India defeated Zimbabwe by 2-0, the controversy lingered threatening his captaincy and place in Indian team in spit of compromise efforts by BCCI. On November 22, 2005, Sourav passed on the baton of captainship to his long time batting partner Rahul Dravid.

His swan’s song of ODI was on January 21, 2007 at Nagpur. His opponents were West India against whom he made ODI test debut in 1992. The swan song was rendered by his bat, He made 98 of Indian total of 338 and won by 14 runs.

Sourav’s Test Career:

Sourav’s started his test career with big bang at Lords. It was on 21st June, 1996. In his very debut he scored an imperious 131 runs. His score of 131 is the highest on test debut by any batsman at Lords. This record stands still today on his name.

In next year 1997, Sourav was the member of Indian Test and ODI team touring Sri Lanka. In ODI fixture, played at Colombo he scored a century. In the second test of the same series, he scored 147. His contribution of 147 runs helped to save the match from defeat. The match was drawn. In the same year of 1997, Sri Lanka toured India to play 3-Test series. In this series he scored 392 at an average of 98. His effort had earned him the awarded as a Man of the series.

In late 2001, India toured England to play tree-test series which India lost 2-0 and the third was declared unofficial. The important part of this series was that six Indian players including Sourav were warned for excessive appeal. Sourav got maximum punishment. He was banned for one test and two ODIs for not controlling his boys.

NetWest Series-July 2002 series was played back to back against West Indies and England. At that point of time India has lost nine finals in a row. This includes six under Sourav’s captaincy. . In the finals of NatWest Series at Lords, India won. Excited Sourav removed his shirt and waved in the balcony of Lords. The people who treat cricket as gentleman game were hurt and criticized his act. Media made big issue of it.

In the following year 2003, Sourav become the first Indian captain to win a test series in Pakistan and 15 test matches as a captain. This is a record. In the same year India lost to Australia at home by a margin of 217 runs. After first test Sourav has withdrawn from the remaining tests due to injury. This had evoked lot of controversies in media.

The year 2005 was not favorable to Sourav. On November 22, 2005 selectors picked Rahul Dravid to lead India in the Tests series against Sri Lanka in place of Sourav. Subsequently in early January 2006, Sourav was the member of Test team touring Pakistan. In first test he could not bat and in the second test he was dropped however he played third test and scored 34 and 37. His performance had not earned him a place in ODI. He was again dropped for the home series against England that followed immediately after Pakistan tour. However he was picked up for South Africa and Bangladesh series. At Chittagong he scored century after three and half year. In 2008 home series against South Africa he made 87 to help India to level the series. It is considered that this performance is the of best of his test career.

His bad luck continued. He was not selected in a row to Sri Lanka Series, Rest of India Match and Irani Trophy-2008. Vengsarkar, the Chairman of national cricket selection committee appear to be instrumental in dropping Sourav from all this matches. However the new national cricket selection committee Chairman, Krishnamachari Srikkanth has selected him to play against Australia. His century has not only helped India to amass huge score to win the match but also helped to compile over 7000 test runs. He compiled 7,000 test runs on playing 111 test in 12-year. Ganguly is the 33rd batsman in the world cricket to cross the 7,000-run mark in Tests. He also made a hundred which is his sixteenth test century. When he compiled 7000 runs he becomes the fourth Indian batsman to achieve this land mark. The other three Indian batsmen are Sachin, Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid. His landmark record could be attributed to the national cricket selection committee Chairman, Krishnamachari Srikkanth who was instrumental in selecting Sourav to play against Australia, after all hopes of his playing in any of the National or International events was looked remote.

Sourav has announced his retirement after 2008 Australian series that’s currently on. The Nagpur test will be Sourav’s last.