Born on July 8, 1972, current BCCI chief and former India captain Sourav Ganguly turned 48 on Wednesday. Sourav Ganguly remains one of the world’s biggest cricket icons the game has ever known.

Geoffrey Boycott once called him ‘The Prince of Calcutta’. His parents nicknamed him ‘Maharaj’. Some labeled him the ‘Royal Bengal tiger’ for his temper, while some argued him to be the best Indian Cricket team captain ever. And most lovingly, he is known as ‘Dada’.

Making Steve Waugh wait for the toss or the shirtless celebration in the Lord’s balcony, everything the Prince of Kolkata has done is iconic and cherished to date.

‘God of offside’

Sourav Ganguly had a dream start to his career at the hallowed ground of Lord’s, where he scored a century on his Test debut and after that, he didn’t look back. Ganguly received the nickname God of offside’ due to his exemplary skill of playing shots on the off side.

Decades change, Dadagiri remains constant

Roles change, the pursuit of excellence remains constant

Happy Birthday, Dada #HappyBirthdayDada #YehHaiNayiDilli @SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/IYZvRi1hLE

— Delhi Capitals (Tweeting from ) (@DelhiCapitals) July 7, 2020

Ganguly represented India in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs by scoring 7213 and 11363 runs respectively. Added to that there have been some memorable knocks during his stellar career that helped India register memorable victories.

Revolutionary captain

Ganguly took over the captaincy in troubled times for Indian cricket, right after the match-fixing fiasco, but went on to become the most successful caprtain from the country till he remained at the helm.

Sourav Ganguly changed the face of Indian cricket with his unparallel leadership, aggressive approach and unmatched batting skills.

During his tenure as captain from 2000 to 2005, India played with aggression – home and away, be it any opposition.

The Indian players too started believing that winning overseas was not a big deal and that belief was instilled by the ‘Prince of Kolkata’.

Under his leadership, India went on to beat Australia in Test series in 2001, beat England at Lord’s to win 2002 Natwest Trophy, reached 2003 World Cup final, drew against England in Test series in 2004, and even defeated Pakistan in a Test series in 2005.

BCCI president

It was on October 23, 2019, when Ganguly formally took over as the 39th BCCI President without facing any opposition to his candidacy. Hailed all over the country as a players-man and the best possible person for the job, Ganguly has had an eventful 8 months in his scheduled 10-month tenure.

After becoming the BCCI President, Ganguly emphasized the same and convinced India captain Virat Kohli in only three seconds to come on board with the idea.

With IPL getting postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, BCCI under Sourav Ganguly confirmed that they ready to host the Indian Premier League behind closed doors and is working on all possible options to stage the tournament this year.

With at few more months left in his tenure, Ganguly can still leave a lasting legacy on not just Indian cricket but also lay a path for future admins to follow.