Happy Birthday Dada: Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly turns 47

Ganguly, who made his international debut in 1992, hanged his boots in 2008 after playing a series against Australia. The southpaw made a memorable Test debut with a hundred at iconic Lord's in 1996.

In 113 Tests, Ganguly scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17. In his One Day International (ODI) career, he played several mesmerising knocks and scored 11,363 runs in 311 matches.

Though he was a prime batsman in the Indian team between 1996 and 2000, Ganguly is best known for his captaincy which had redefined the Indian cricket. Taking over the charge of the team from Sachin Tendulkar in 2000 amid the match-fixing scandal, the Bengali man led his team to the World Cup final in 2003 but missed the chance to lift the trophy.

Winning Natwest Trophy and Champions Trophy, beating Australia at home and level Test series away, clinching both Test and ODI series victories against Pakistan in their soil are few of the feats which Ganguly's "Team India" had achieved.

He was also the most successful Test captain until the record was broken by his successor Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

The darkest phase of his career came with the appointment of Greg Chappell as the Indian coach in 2005. Though it was Ganguly who was instrumental in appointing Chappell, the former captain was dropped straight away from the national team and was kept out of international cricket for six months completely.

In Dec 2006, Ganguly made a comeback with his not out 51 against South Africa and once again cemented his position in the Indian batting line up which was facing a bit of problem in that phase.

Though he was once again dropped from the ODI team by skipper Dhoni in early 2008, Ganguly played Test cricket till the end of the same year. In his last Test series against Australia, Ganguly was one of the top scorers with a hundred. In his last match, unlike in debut, he scored 85 and a duck.

In his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint, Ganguly's captaincy however didn't yield much to Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the initial years and eventually he was not picked by the team management in 2011.

Again he made a comeback for Pune Warriors India (PWI) in the same year, but his poor record as an IPL captain continued even with the new franchise. He played his last IPL in 2012.

Post-retirement, Ganguly was seen playing diverse roles. He ventured into show hosting, cricket commentary as well as cricket administration.

He is presently the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) as well as a prominent commentator in the ongoing World Cup. The former skipper is also an adviser to IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.

Birthday wishes:

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag tweeted, "Happy Birthday to a 56” Captain , Dada @SGanguly99 ! 56 inch chest, 8th day of the 7th month, 8*7 = 56 and a World Cup average of 56. #HappyBirthdayDada , May God Bless You !"

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who was a key batsman in Ganguly's team, tweeted, "Happy Birthday to a man who brought about a fantastic transition in Indian cricket, a brilliant leader who backed guys he believed in to the fullest . But aise kaun chadhta hai , Dada"

Yuvraj Singh tweeted, "The man who built and supported us for the future ! You will always be special to me ❤️ Lots of love and best wishes to you dadi. Have a great birthday 🎂 @SGanguly99"

VVS Laxman said: "Many more happy returns of the day @SGanguly99 ! Wish you ever more success and love #HappyBirthdayDada"

Cheteshwar Pujara said: "Happy birthday Dada, you've always been an inspiration for me and all the youth out there 🙏 @SGanguly99"