Born on 7th July, 1972 in Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly played for India for nearly 12 years. He was the captain of the Indian team for most part of his career ie; from 2000-2005 and he is considered by many as the most successful Indian captain. Sourav Ganguly's record as Indian captain is as follows
Test :- 49 matches, 21 wins, 13 losses, 15 draws.
ODI :- 147 matches, 76 wins, 66 losses.
Under the leardership of Dada, India were joint winners of the Champions Trophy in SriLanka in 2002, India won the Natwest Trophy in England - a moment considered historic by many, India reached the final of the 2003 w'cup, India won a test match against Australia in Adelaide and leveled the series 1-1, India won a test match against England in Leeds again leveling the series 1-1 and the biggest of all, India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in Pakistan 2-1 in 2004.
But unfortunately, due to controversy and form, he was dropped from the team in 2005. But he still had the desire to make a comeback. He was determined enough to do so as he went back to domestic cricket and played for Bengal for one whole season. He went to English county cricket to gain some form back and finally, his dedication and commitment towards the game payed off. The day finally arrived when Dada got his second chance to play for India. On the tour of South Africa in 2006-2007 just before the w'cup, Dada was picked in the test team. Many considered that he would struggle in the bouncy pitches of south africa. But, he proved everyone wrong and eventually, he was the highest run scorer for India in that series. Since then Ganguly never looked back and he probably had the best of his time during the last two years of his career. In 2007, he was the highest run scorer for India in test matches and the second highest scorer for India in one dayers. In 2008, just before the test series against australia in India, Ganguly announced that it would be his last. N what a way it was to end a glorious career ! what else could he have asked for- India won the series 2-0 and Ganguly had a decent run with the bat scoring a century in Mohali and a brisk 89 in his last test at Nagpur.
This dedication and passion of Dada inspires me and the reason why he is my role model. In my opinion, he is truly an inspiration not just for someone like me but for budding cricketers. He showed the world that if one is dedicated, committed and passionate enough to achieve what one wants to in life, one can gain success. Therefore, in my opinion, he remains one of the world's best players.
Sourav Ganguly plays for the Pune Warriors in the IPL (Indian Premier League). He is the captain of the franchise. Being a strong supporter and an avid Dada fan, I hope and pray that Dada gets another chance to play in the IPL in the 2013 season and like he has proved before, comes back with a bang !
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