‘Dadagiri turns fifty’- Twitter overjoyed as Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 50th birthday

Sourav Ganguly the captain that sowed the seeds of aggression in the Indian cricket team, is celebrating his 50th birthday. Currently helming the Indian cricket board as president the mercurial captain has been integral to India’s success as a cricket team and beyond.

Twitter was awash with birthday wishes for ‘Dada’ but before we look at them, let’s have a look at his contribution to Indian cricket.

Debuting for the Indian team on 11th January 1992, the Calcutta-born southpaw, soon became one of the important links for Men in blue. In an international career spanning 424 matches, the left-handed batter made sensational 18575 runs for the country. To make a mark in the Indian team which had Sachin Tendulkar in it is special in itself, but the ex-Indian captain did one better.

From 1997 to 2007, Ganguly scored more ODI runs than the God of cricket himself. In those 11 years, he made 11091 runs while Tendulkar amassed 10511 and that shows the talent that this man possessed. In 1999, he also held the record for most international runs in a calendar year (1767).

While many have come to know Virat Kohli as an aggressive player, it was Sourav Ganguly who transformed India’s image from a meek team to an out-and-out fighter. Ganguly waving his shirt from the Lord’s balcony in 2002 still send shivers down Indian cricket fans’ spine. Ganguly did that in response to Andrew Flintoff who did the same in Mumbai in the sixth ODI. This was Ganguly’s message to the world that the new India gave back with interest; a tit-for-tat approach that made team India a feared team across the cricketing world.

His aggression and confidence came in as a legacy to the current Indian team and many now walk in his footsteps and have the belief to challenge anyone in the world. The once-great batter now imparts his great knowledge and man management skill from the very top as Indian cricket board President and has seen through many positive changes to Indian cricket.

Let’s look at some tweets celebrating Sourav Ganguly’s 50th birthday.