Personal Details and Early Life
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, famously known as ‘Dada’ (means ‘Elder brother’ in Bengali), is a former
Indian national cricket team captain and the current President of the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI). He was a left-handed opening batsman, who had earned himself the nickname ‘God of
the Off-side’ because of his prolific hitting through the off. Ganguly loves to travel and his favorite
place in London, UK.
Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 as the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly in Calcutta,
West Bengal. Ganguly had a luxurious childhood and was nicknamed the ‘Maharaja’, as his father
Chandidas was one of the richest men in the city. He did his schooling at St. Xavier’s Collegiate
School, where he was initially attracted to football but his mother was against him taking up any
sports as a career. However, while Ganguly was in the tenth standard, he was enrolled in a cricket
coaching camp. His brother Snehasish was already an established player for the Bengal cricket team.
Career
Ganguly made his ODI debut in 1992 against West Indies after a productive season in the Ranji
Trophy. However, after scoring just three runs in his debut he was dropped immediately and also
perceived as “arrogant”. He was recalled in 1996, for the tour of England, after more prolific Ranji
Trophy and Duleep Trophy seasons. On that tour, he also made his Test debut at Lord’s Cricket
Ground. He scored 131 and 136 in his first two test innings capping a very successful individual
outing in England.
Ganguly has played 113 Test matches, scoring 7212 runs with a batting average of 42.17. He was also
a part-time bowler, picking up 32 test wickets in his career. On 12 December 2007, Ganguly scored
239 runs, his maiden double century of his career while playing against arch-rivals Pakistan.
In the ODI scenario, Ganguly has scored 11,363 runs in the 311 ODIs that he has featured. He has
two five-wicket hauls, including best figures of 5/16. In the 1999 ODI World Cup Ganguly scored his
career-best 183 runs against Srilanka.
Ganguly’s only T20 experience came in the IPL, where he captained the Kolkata Knight Riders. He
played 59 matches scoring 1349 runs including seven 50s.
Ganguly captained the Indian team in the early 2000s and is statistically one of the best Indian
captains ever. He has a win percentage of 42.85 in Tests & 53.90 in ODIs.
Achievements and Awards
●The only cricketer to win four men of the match awards on the trot in ODIs
●The second highest Indian and eighth-highest overall run-scorer in ODI history, with 11,363
runs.
●Only five cricketers have achieved the unique treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets & 100
catches in ODI cricket, Ganguly is one of them.
●Winning 11 out of 28 matches that he captained abroad makes him India’s most successful
Test captain overseas.
●In 2004, he was awarded the Padma Shri.
●He was awarded the Banga Bibhushan Award in 2013 by the government of West Bengal.
In his administrational career, Ganguly, from 2015 to October 2019 was the President of the Cricket
Association of Bengal (CAB) and in October 2019, he became President of the Board of Control for
Cricket in India.
Personal Life
Just weeks after his successful tour of England in 1996, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart
Dona Roy, who is an Indian Odissi dancer. This news caused an uproar in both the bride and groom’s
family as they were sworn enemies at that point. However, both families restored friendly
relationships and a formal wedding was held in February 1997. In November 2001, the couple
welcomed a baby girl named Sana.
