Sourav Ganguly walked into the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground today to mark the end of an era. This was his last international appearance which he had announced even before the Border-Gavaskar Cup started. Ganguly went for a golden duck yesterday but that did little to mar the great series he had already had.

 

The newly appointed skipper MS Dhoni handed Dada complimentary captaincy as a moving gesture that expressed the admiration and respect the players, and the fans alike have for him.

Ganguly declared his retirement plans arousing a lot of speculations. The rumors of BCCI forcing the senior players to call quits grew weight, more so because Ganguly has never been the selectors’ blue-eyed boy. There were many who celebrated his decision and welcomed the space created for the youths to step in.

 

 

Personal Information
Full name	Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
Nickname	Dada, Prince of Kolkata, Bengal Tiger, Maharaja
Born	8 July 1972 (1972-07-08) (age 36)
	Calcutta (Now: Kolkata), India
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Left-handed
Bowling style	Right arm medium
Role	Batsman
International Information
Test debut (cap 207)	20 June 1996: v England
Last Test	06 October 2008: v Australia
ODI debut (cap 84)	11 January 1992: v West Indies
Last ODI	15 November 2007: v Pakistan
Domestic Team Information
Years	Team
1989/90–2006/07	Bengal
2000	Lancashire
2005	Glamorgan
2006	Northamptonshire
2008–present	Kolkata Knight Riders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
For some critics, Ganguly has forever been out of form and fitness. For others, he has no clue on how to play a short ball. And the pseudo-sophisticated have always found his aggression crass and crude. He has never minced words and that irks the intelligentsia. He never bowed out when the door was turned on his face and that pisses the babus. Certainly Dada made far more enemies in his career span.

And then there are millions amongst us and like us who love him for he made us see the best days of our cricket. In a nation as politically correct as ours, swirling the shirt bare-chested as he mouthed jubilatory swears to the English team was a never before sight. The pride of reaching the World Cup finals, never mind the staggering defeat, was his gift to his fans and a cork-in-the-mouth for his critics.

With the highest number of test victories to his credit, 10000+ runs in test cricket and a career spanning 16 years, one doesn’t expect this player to be sacked of captaincy and team overnight. But that happened. And Ganguly persisted. And was back.

Ganguly was the third tier of the Indian batting trinity with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag owe it to him as he has always been a supporter of introducing youth in the team. Dada is not only statistically India’s best captain in entire history but also the most unique man to have played in the side. He is known for his resilience and the ability to come back all the more strongly each time he was shown the way out.

The man of comebacks won’t come back now.

 

 

 

Batting And Fielding Averages
	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50	Ct
Tests	113	188	17	7212	239	42.17	51.25	16	35	71
ODIs	311	300	23	11363	183	41.02	73.70	22	72	100
First-class	241	382	43	14864	239	43.84	--	31	84	165
List A	423	407	42	15161	183	41.53	--	31	93	130
Twenty20	31	30	2	726	91	25.92	110.50	0	4	11

 

 

Bowling Averages
	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	5w
Tests	113	99	3117	1681	32	3/37	52.53	3.23	97.4	0
ODIs	311	171	4561	3849	100	5/16	38.49	5.06	45.6	2
First-class	241	--	10920	6013	164	--	36.66	3.30	66.5	4
List A	423	--	7949	6454	168	5/16	38.41	4.87	47.3	2
Twenty20	31	24	417	521	25	3/27	20.84	7.49	16.6	0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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