OTD | Sourav Ganguly was born in 1972

Sourav Ganguly was born on July 8, 1972, in Kolkata to renowned businessman Chandidas Ganguly and his wife Nirupa Ganguly. He came from a well-to-do family and went to ST. Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata. The Behala-born graduated in commerce from the St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata.

Ganguly was initially into football, but his parents wanted him to focus on academics. His elder brother Snehasish Ganguly, who was already an established member of the Bengal cricket team, supported Sourav in his dream of taking up sports as a career.

Ganguly made his ODI debut in 1992 after scoring plenty of runs in the Ranji Trophy 1990-91 season. However, the southpaw only managed three runs against the West Indies. He was dropped from the side, with questions being raised about his “arrogant” demeanour and attitude towards the game. It was reported that he refused to carry drinks for his teammates, saying that it was not his work. However, the left-handed batter denied this allegation later on.

Ganguly had to wait for more than four years to make his Test debut. However, this game turned out to be a turning point in his career, as he scored a magnificent century.

Ganguly played some glorious knocks for India in ODIs as well as in Tests. The southpaw was known for being strong on the off-side. His cover drives and square cuts were a treat to watch. He was also a phenomenal player of spin, not allowing the best spinners in world cricket to settle down, as he loved using his feet and depositing them over the boundary ropes.

Ganguly also captained India, taking over from Sachin Tendulkar, who relinquished the role due to health issues. After the match fixing scandal by some of the players in 2000, India was going through a tough phase but Ganguly led the team from the front, backed youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, and many others to regain the trust of cricket fans.

Ganguly was dropped from the side in 2005 after reportedly having disagreements with then-head coach Greg Chappell. However, he kept working hard behind the scenes and made a comeback in 2006. Ganguly retired from international cricket in 2008.

In 113 Tests, he scored 7212 runs at an average of 42.17. Meanwhile, in the ODI format, he played 311 games, scoring 11,363 runs at an average of 41.02. In the IPL, amassed 1349 runs in 59 matches at an average of 25.45. After his retirement, Ganguly served as the BCCI president from 2019 to 2022. He is currently the JSW Sports Director of Cricket.

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