There
were few Modern cricketer who had contributed too much in cricket
history as later across the world they all are titled as Legend and
the contribution was too high, that it seems
impossible to
be repeated again. For me the legends are Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav
Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, VVS Laxman, Ricky Ponting and Gary
Kirsten.
When
we come to talk about Sourav Ganguly he is truly one of the finest
captain of Indian Cricket Team, an iconic image in the history of
cricket and a forever hardline spirited man and a born leader. And
today the iconic figure of Bengal is celebrating his 41st
Birthday. The left–handed batting master was born on 8th
July in the year 1972 in Kolkata, West Bengal. He is famously called
as “Dada” that means “Elder Brother”, “The Bengal Tiger”,
“God of Off Side”, “Prince of Kolkata” and also famed to be
most courageous captain of Indian Team.
A
Man who took off his shirt at the balcony of Lords to celebrate
India’s win during the final of Natwest Series in 2002 in England.
As
Steve Waugh once famously said that he saw in Sourav a committed
individual who wanted to inject some toughness and combativeness into
a side that had often tended in the past to roll over and expose a
soft underbelly.
He
was arguably one of the best left-hand batsmen India has ever and
famed as the “God of Off Side”. He was too much skilled to play
off-side deliveries as the legendary batsmen was famously described
by Rahul Dravid as "Next to God on the off-side." A
creative force often termed as a rebel, a man layered with many
characters and always in the thick of things. He was probably one of
those very few men who took the field and evoked mixed emotions. A
career spanning more than sixteen years was full of disasters and
rescues, and comebacks and mistakes and memorable moments. Ganguly
was fun, just the kind of energy he brought to a cricket field, the
passion with which he played the game of cricket and his willingness
to take on the best is what separates him from the rest.
With
Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly formed one of the most destructive opening
pairs in ODI cricket history and became the second Indian to cross
the 10000-run mark in ODIs. Every fast bowler worth his salt tried to
knock off his head with short balls and bouncers at some point of
their career but his elegance and grace on the off-side is beyond
question. Throughout his career he has flirted with danger, played
with his fate, tempting it to turn its back on him and just when his
critics wrote him off he would surprise everybody by making a
comeback. Only he probably knows how to write his own scripts.
With
a record of 21 Test wins, Ganguly stood on top of the record books
for eight years before Dhoni overtook him. The stark difference
between the two captaincy has to be that Sourav Ganguly was given a
team that needed to be molded and built, he took over at a time when
VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh were not the power
houses that they were when Dhoni was captain. Also, Sachin Tendulkar
was going through a lean patch at that time.
He
may have quit international cricket for three years now but the love
and affection Sourav Ganguly that received still is enviable. Almost
three years have passed, but public’s love and affection for this
cricketing legend has not faded away even a little.
It
was only his hard work to build Team India and became a formidable
force under his leadership. It was under his able leadership that
India managed to shed the tag of 'tigers at home and lambs abroad'.
His contribution to Indian cricket is immense and will forever be
remembered as the man who changed the face of Indian cricket.
SAURAV WAS, IS AND SHALL BE THE BEST LEFT HANDED BATSMAN AND CAPTAIN
INDIA EVER HAD.
Love
Him or Hate Him, But you Have to Respect Him.
Wish
you a Very Happy Birthday “The Warrior Prince”. Almighty give him
a good health, luck and a prosperous life.
Regards
Dhitendra
Keep Smiling :-)
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