Happy birthday Sourav Ganguly: Prince of Kolkata's journey from Test debut to becoming BCCI President

Sourav Ganguly was born in Kolkata on July 8, 1972. His father Chandidas Ganguly, a businessman, was among the richest people in the city. Before turning to cricket, Sourav showed great interest in football. While studying at Kolkata’s St Xavier's School, Sourav played several football games. However, Sourav joined a cricket academy at the advice of his elder brother Snehasish. Soon, he became passionate about cricket. He even got a cricket pitch made at his residence. In 1982, Sourav got the opportunity to play first-class cricket and performed well in several under-15 games. He even scored a century against Odisha. (Image: Reuters)

Taking note of his performance, Sourav was selected for the West Indies tour of 1992 but he couldn't perform there. His ‘flop show’ in West Indies cost him four years and he was only able to make it to the team in 1996. He scored 46 runs against England in an ODI game. On the same tour, Sourav made his Test debut at Lord’s and scored a century. He repeated the feat in the next Test match as well, becoming only the second Indian batsman after Mohammed Azharuddin to score centuries in his first two Test matches. The back-to-back centuries cemented Sourav’s place in the Indian cricket team. (Image: Reuters)

In 1997, Sourav performed exceedingly well against Pakistan in the Sahara Cup. He was awarded ‘Man-of-the-match’ four times during the tournament. Not only did Ganguly score runs but also took a 5-wicket haul. He scored the highest runs in the world in 1997 and was declared the best batter of the year. (Image: Reuters)

In 1999, Sourav got to open the game with Sachin Tendulkar. He scored his career-best 186 runs while playing against Sri Lanka in the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup. In the same year, he clinched the ‘Man-of-the-series’ award in the Pepsi Cup played against New Zealand. (Image: Reuters)

After the match-fixing scandal, Sourav was made the Indian captain in 2000. Under his captaincy, several young cricketers -- including Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and MS Dhoni, among others -- made their debut. He led India to several successful campaigns on foreign pitches and made the Indian side one of the strongest cricket teams in the world. In 2003, India made it to the ODI World Cup finals under his captaincy. (Image: Reuters)

However, Sourav’s clash with coach Greg Chappell on several issues and his below-average performance once again brought a low period in his career. He was dropped as a captain and from the team altogether. Nevertheless, his persistence helped him reclaim a spot on the team in 2007. Though his strike rate took a hit, Sourav was able to score runs after his comeback. After proving his mettle, Sourav retired from international cricket in 2008. (Image: Reuters)

In all, Sourav played 311 ODIs and 113 Test matches. During his international cricketing career, he amassed 18,575 runs. He was the second player to score 10,000 runs in ODI after Sachin Tendulkar. He still holds the record of the highest individual score (183) by an Indian batsman in the Cricket World Cup. Besides, Sourav also scored 48 centuries. Later, he penned an autobiography ‘A Century is Not Enough’. (Image: Reuters)

In October 2019, Sourav was elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). As BCCI president, he introduced the pink ball to Test cricket. He also played the key role in hosting a day-night test cricket at his home ground -- Eden Gardens, Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

For his outstanding contributions in the field of sports, Sourav has been conferred with Sports Star Person of the Year, Arjuna Award, CEAT Indian Captain of the Year, Padma Shri 2004, and Rammohan Roy Award. (Image: Reuters)