A true fighter and fearless, Sourav Ganguly is one of the best captains India has ever produced. Started his career as an opener, Sourav excelled in both test and ODIs, scoring more than 18000 runs in 424 matches across all formats. Ganguly is one of the best left-arm batsmen to ever play the game and was invincible in the offside. He took ever the captaincy in the worst phase of Indian cricket when it was on the verge of getting declined due to match-fixing allegations on Indian cricketers. But the skipper rescued the team from scarcity and took it to new heights by instilling courage, dedication, and a positive attitude in young players. Today Sourav Ganguly turned 49, let’s take a gaze at some interesting facts about Prince of Calcutta, which will you put you in awe.
Interesting Facts About Sourav Ganguly
- Sourav Chandidas Ganguly was born on 8th July in 1972 in Calcutta to businessman Chandidas and housewife Nirupa Ganguly. He had a very lavish childhood. His father set up a gym and practice turf in-house for him to practice.
- Ganguly’s parents used to call him “Maharaja” and teammates would call him “Dada”. Later Sir Geoffrey Boycott gave him the nickname “The Prince of Calcutta” for his excellent batting.
- In his childhood, he used to like to play football. His mother was not in favor of taking sport as a career. Afterward, his elder brother Snehasish supported him to play cricket professionally. As his brother was a left-handed batsman, he also began batting as a left-hander so that he could his cricket equipments. But he bowls, writes, and does all work with his right hand.
- Sourav made his first-class debut in 1989 for Bengal as a replacement of his elder brother Snehasish Ganguly, who was axed from the side.
- Dada made his first appearance in ODI cricket in 1992 against West Indies and managed to make 3 runs only. The management promptly sacked him from the national side accusing him of misbehavior and not taking drinks in the ground for players. However, the southpaw still denies it.
- Ganguly made a grand announcement of his Test career, smashing 131 off 301 balls at Lord’s in 1996 against England.
- The Prince of Calcutta was fortuitous for India. Whenever Ganguly scored a hundred, India never lost a match in test cricket. He has amassed 7212 runs in 113 tests with an impressive average of 42.13.
- Sourav Ganguly is the only player on the planet to get four consecutive awards in ODIs, he accomplished the feat in 1997.
- Ganguly is the first player to smack 3 centuries in the Champions Trophy history.
- Till 2017, Sourav Ganguly was the quickest player to score 9000 ODI runs (in 228 innings) later AB DE Villiers broke it by making it in 205 innings. Currently, he is 4th fastest to do so.
- Ganguly has won only one ICC event in his career as a skipper, the 2002 Champions Trophy.
- In the World Cup, Sourav Ganguly has scored the highest score by an Indian, 183 off 158 balls against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup.
- After Greg Chappell’s appointment as the coach of India in 2005, Sourav Ganguly didn’t have a good relationship with him as Chappell didn’t trust his capability as a player and captain. As a result, the management axed him from the team and he made a strong comeback in 2006, making 51* & 25 in 1st and 2nd innings apiece against South Africa.
- Ganguly captained the Indian team for 5 minutes in his last international match at MS Dhoni’s request, which was played against Australia in 2008.
- County Crikcet is best among all the domestic crickets. Ganguly has played for three County teams Lancashire (2000), Glamorgan (2005), and Northamptonshire (2006).
- Kolkata Knight Riders bought Sourav Ganguly in the maiden IPL season in 2008. He led the side in the season and also played the first ball of IPL.
- Delhi Capitals selected the southpaw for the advisory role in 2019 IPL.
- Dada served as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal from 2015 to 2019. In October 2019, Ganguly became the president of BCCI.
- Sourav Ganguly got married to his girlfriend Dona in 1997. There was a rumor that the couple even eloped once before their marriage.
- Along with being a classical cricketer, Sourav was the owner of a restaurant called “The Food Pavilion”. His fellow teammate Sachin Tendulkar inaugurated the restaurant.
- Following his interest in football, Sourav co-owns a football franchise called “Atletico De Kolkata” in ISL.
- The Indian Government bestowed him the prestigous “Padma Shri” award in 2004. In 2013, the Goverment of West Bengal conferred him the “Banga Bibhusan Award” in 2013.
- The Govt of West Bengal named a road after his name in Rajarhat Gopalpur, (Sourav Ganguly Avenue) for his illustrious career as a cricketer.
- Ganguly has worn 99, 24, and 1 No jersey during his career.
- The Prince of Calcutta’s approximate net worth is $50.
- The ex-Indian captain’s test averaged never dipped below 40 in his career.
Career Stats of Sourav Ganguly
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | Highest Score | 50s | 100s |
| ODI | 311 | 300 | 11363 | 41.02 | 73.70 | 183 | 72 | 22 |
| Test | 113 | 188 | 7212 | 42.17 | 51.25 | 239 | 35 | 16 |
| First-Class | 254 | 399 | 15687 | 44.18 | – | 239 | 89 | 33 |
Interesting Facts About Sourav Ganguly
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