Sourav Ganguly Inducted In ICC Hall Of Fame, Joins Elite List From India

Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah during office - (Source: AFP)

On Wednesday, July 8, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is celebrating his 54th birthday. On his special day, the entire cricketing fraternity took to social media to extend their wishes to the legendary figure in Indian cricket.

Sourav Ganguly will always be remembered for bringing in a new generation of stars such as Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, and Ashish Nehra. The southpaw, touted by many as the greatest Indian captain, left cricket in 2008, but has been involved in administrative roles since then to stay close to the sport.

ICC Rewards Sourav Ganguly With Highest Cricketing Honour

In the latest events, a report from RevSportz stated that Sourav Ganguly will be inducted into ICC’s hall of fame for his illustrious career. Notably, Sourav Ganguly will become the 12th Indian cricketer to be awarded this prestigious honour.

Overall, Ganguly will be just the 10th male cricketer to be inducted into ICC’s Hall of Fame.

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Sourav Ganguly's Illustrious Career

Sourav Ganguly made his India debut at the age of 20. The southpaw served the team for good 16 years. The 53-year-old played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs for the team.

The former India captain finished his illustrious career with Sourav Ganguly scored a total of 18,575 runs across international formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). His career breakdown includes 11,363 runs in ODIs and 7,212 runs in Test matches. 

Sourav Ganguly captained India in 49 Tests, winning 21, losing 13, and drawing 15 matches. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he led the team in 146 matches, securing 76 wins and suffering 65 defeats.

How Was Sourav Ganguly As A Leader?

Sourav Ganguly is widely regarded as one of India's most influential cricket captains—not necessarily because he had the best win-loss record, but because he transformed the team's mindset and laid the foundation for India's success in the 2000s.

Firstly, under Ganguly, India's attitude shifted completely. In the 90s, India hardly used to beat any team outside of India. However, once Sourav Ganguly took over, he made entire nation believe that the Men in Blue can also win matches overseas.

As mentioned above, Ganguly also backed youngsters like Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan Khan, Ashish Nehra, MS Dhoni, and Yuvraj Singh. 

Sourav Ganguly Movie Announced On His Birthday

On Sourav Ganguly's 54th birthday, Rajkumar Rao the actor unveiled a movie poster 'Dada', based on Ganguly's life. Shortly after the poster was revealed, Ganguly shared it on social media, describing it as the “best gift ever” and writing, “Can’t wait to see you play my cover drive! @rajkummar_rao.”

Notably, the poster featured the famous 2002 Natwest Series where Sourav Ganguly took off his shirt and waved it from Lord's balcony in London.

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