Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (/s?u?r?v g?ngu?

lj/ (listen); natively spelled as

Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), affectionately known as Dada (meaning "elder
brother" in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former
national cricket team captain who served as the 35th President of the Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He is popularly called as Maharaja of Indian
Cricket.[1] During his playing career, Ganguly established himself as one of the
world's leading batsmen and also one of the most successful captains of the Indian
national cricket team.[2][3][4]
As a cricketer he played as a left-handed opening batsman and was captain of the
Indian national team. Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder
brother, Snehasish. He started his career by playing in state and school teams.
After playing in different Indian domestic tournaments, such as the Ranji and
Duleep trophies, Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of
England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Ganguly's
place in the team was assured after successful performances in series against Sri
Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, winning the Man of the Match awards. In the 1999
Cricket World Cup, he was involved in a partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid,
which remains the highest overall partnership score in the World Cup tournament
history.
Due to the match-fixing scandals in 2000 by other players of the team, and for his
poor health, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar resigned his position, and Ganguly was
made the captain of the Indian cricket team. He was soon the subject of media
criticism after an unsuccessful stint for county side Durham and for taking off his
shirt in the final of the 2002 NatWest Series. He led India into the 2003 World Cup
final, where they were defeated by Australia. Due to a decrease in individual
performance, he was dropped from the team in the following year. He returned to the
National team in 2006, and made successful batting displays. Around this time, he
became involved in a dispute with Indian team coach Greg Chappell over several
misunderstandings. Ganguly was again dropped from the team, however he was selected
to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He is regarded as one of India's most
successful captains in modern times,[5] and one of the greatest ODI batsmen of all
time.[6][7][8]
Currently, he is the 8th highest run scorer in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and
was the 3rd batsman in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark, after Sachin
Tendulkar and Inzamam Ul Haq. In 2002, the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him
the sixth greatest ODI batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar,
Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan.[6] Ganguly joined the Kolkata Knight
Riders team as captain for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in
2008. The same year, after a home Test series against Australia, he announced his
retirement from international cricket. He continued to play for the Bengal team and
was appointed the chairman of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Cricket
Development Committee. The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International
(ODI) batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. He is one of the most
successful Indian Test captains to date, winning 21 out of 49 test matches. Sourav
Ganguly is the most successful Indian test captain overseas with 11 wins.[9] The
Indian team was ranked eighth in the ICC rankings before he became the captain, and
under his tenure the team rank went up to second. An aggressive captain, Ganguly is
credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under
him, and transforming the Indian team into an aggressive fighting unit.
Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.[10] He was awarded with the Banga
Bibhushan Award from the Government of West Bengal in 2013.[11] Along with
Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, and Utsav Parekh, Ganguly is also the co-owner
of Atl�tico de Kolkata, a franchise of the Indian Super League, which won the
inaugural season in 2014.[12] He was also the brand ambassador of I-League side
Mohammedan Sporting.[13] Ganguly was elected as a president of the BCCI in 2019.
[14][15] and President of the editorial board with Wisden India.[16] Before being
elected as the President of BCCI, he was the President of Cricket Association of
Bengal, governing body for cricket in West Bengal, India. He is currently a part of
the Supreme Court of India appointed Justice Mudgal Committee probe panel for the
IPL Spot fixing and betting scandal's investigations.[17]
Early and personal life
Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta, and is the youngest son of
Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly.[18][19] Chandidas ran a flourishing print business
and was one of the richest men in the city.[20] Ganguly had a luxurious childhood
and was nicknamed the 'Maharaja', meaning the Great King. Ganguly's father
Chandidas Ganguly died at the age of 73 on 21 February 2013 after a long illness.
[21]
Since the favourite sport for the people of Calcutta was football, Ganguly was
initially attracted to the game. However, academics came in-between his love for
sports and Nirupa was not very supportive of Ganguly taking up cricket or any other
sport as a career.[22][23] By then, his elder brother Snehasish was already an
established cricketer for the Bengal cricket team. He supported Ganguly's dream to
be a cricketer and asked their father to get Ganguly enrolled in a cricket coaching
camp during his summer holidays. Ganguly was studying in tenth standard at that
time.[24]
Despite being right-handed, Ganguly learnt to bat left-handed so he could use his
brother's sporting equipment.[22] After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was
enrolled in a cricket academy. An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at
their home, so he and Snehasish could practice the game. They used to watch a
number of old cricket match videos, especially the games played by David Gower,
whom Ganguly admired.[20] After he scored a century against the Orissa Under�15
side, he was made captain of St Xavier's School's cricket team, where several of
his teammates complained against what they perceived to be his arrogance.[22][25]
While touring with a junior team, Ganguly refused his turn as the twelfth man, as
he reportedly felt that the duties involved, which included organising equipment
and drinks for the players, and delivering messages, were beneath his social
status.[26] Ganguly purportedly refused to do such tasks as he considered it
beneath his social status to assist his teammates in such a way.[27] However, his
playmanship gave him a chance to make his first-class cricket debut for Bengal in
1989, the same year that his brother was dropped from the team.[22][28]
He is married to Indian classical dancer dancer Dona Ganguly, with whom he has a
daughter Sana (b. 2001).[22]
Health
On 2 January 2021, Ganguly complained of chest pain while exercising and was later
diagnosed with three blocked coronary arteries which had led to a mild cardiac
arrest. He underwent primary angioplasty for one of the blockages on the same day.
[29][30]
Playing career
1990�96: Career beginning and debut success
See also: List of centuries scored on Test cricket debut

The Pavilion at Lord's, where Ganguly made his Test debut in 1996
Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990�91,[31] Ganguly scored three runs in his
One Day International (ODI) debut for India against the West Indies in 1992.[18]
[32] He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his
attitude towards the game was openly questioned. It was rumoured that Ganguly
refused to carry drinks for his teammates, commenting that it was not his job to do
so, later denied by him. Consequently, he was removed from the team.[22][27] He
toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993�94 and 1994�95 Ranji
seasons.[33][34] Following an innings of 171 in the 1995�96 Duleep Trophy, he was
recalled to the Indian team for a tour of England in 1996, in the middle of intense
media scrutiny.[35] He played in a single ODI,[36] but was omitted from the team
for the first Test. However, after teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu left the touring
party, citing ill-treatment by then captain Mohammad Azharuddin,[37] Ganguly made
his Test debut against England in the Second Test of a three-match series at Lord's
Cricket Ground along with Rahul Dravid.[38] England had won the First Test of the
three-match series; however, Ganguly scored a century, becoming only the third
cricketer to achieve such a feat on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John
Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but
Ganguly's 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at the ground.
[37] India was not required to bat in the second innings due to the match ending in
a draw.[39] In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only
the third batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after
Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin
Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any
country for any wicket outside India. The Test again ended in a draw, handing
England a 1�0 series victory; Ganguly scored 48 in the second innings.[40][41]
1997�99: Marriage, Opening in ODIs and World Cup '99
See also: List of highest individual scores in ODIs