Sourav Ganguly
India
Personal information
Batting style	Left hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm medium
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	106	311
Runs scored	6792	11363
Batting average	42. The Indian cricket team is an international Cricket team representing India. Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the Sport of Cricket. Test cricket is the longest form of the Sport of Cricket. It has long been considered the ultimate test of playing ability between cricketing nations Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. Batting average is a Statistic in both Cricket and Baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively 71	41. 02
100s/50s	15/34	22/72
Top score	239	183
Balls bowled	2948	4561
Wickets	32	100
Bowling average	51. A delivery or ball in Cricket is a single action of Bowling a Cricket ball towards the Batsman. In the sport of Cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings Meanings of wicket Set of stumps Primarily the wicket Bowling average is a Statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the Sport of Cricket. 31	38. 49
5 wickets in innings	0	2
10 wickets in match	0	n/a
Best bowling	3/37	5/16
Catches/stumpings	69/0	100/0
As of April 13, 2008 Source: [1]

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (Bengali: সৌরভ গাঙ্গুলী) (pronunciation (help·info)) (born 8 July 1972),^[1] is an Indian cricketer. An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of Sports &ndash most notably Cricket and Baseball during For other uses see Stump (disambiguation Stump is a term used in the Sport of Cricket where has three different meanings Events 1111 - Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. 1204 - The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Ganguly lives in Behala in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). Behala is a locality in Southern Calcutta It is flanked by Kidderpore in the north the New Alipore / Alipore and Tollygunge in the east ^[2]

Ganguly is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. Mike Powell cricketerjpg|thumb|200px| Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell]] A batsman in the sport of Cricket is depending on context Any Muralijpg|thumb|250px|right|The world's leading off-spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan sends down a delivery]] A bowler in the Sport of Cricket is usually He is the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches. ^[3] He is currently the 5th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests. ^[4] He is the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 One Day Internationals. Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. ^[5] In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs, Ganguly is the second among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (who has the highest ODI runs in the world) and the fourth in the world. ^[6] Ganguly has scored 15 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. He is one of only seven batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. ^[7]

Ganguly was the captain of the Indian cricket team from 2000 to 2005. He led India in a record 49 Test matches and is the most successful Test captain of his country (India won in 21 of the 49 test matches that Ganguly led). The Indian cricket team is an international Cricket team representing India. ^[8] He also led India to the 2003 World Cup final. The 2003 Cricket World Cup ( Official name: ICC Cricket World Cup 2003) was played in South Africa from February 9 to March 24. ^[9]

Following an exit from the national team in early 2006, Ganguly was recalled to the Indian test side in December, staging a successful comeback in the 2006 - 2007 Indian tour of South Africa.

Ganguly has earned various nicknames over the years. He is affectionately called Dada (which means elder brother in Bengali), and sometimes Dadi, by his team-mates. Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott named him The Prince of Calcutta. Geoffrey Boycott OBE (born 21 October 1940 is a former Cricketer for Yorkshire and England. During Ganguly's stint at English county cricket, some English sports journalists conferred upon him the highly sarcastic title Lord Snooty for his apparent aloofness from his county teammates.

Early Life

The youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly, Ganguly was born on July 8, 1973 in Kolkata<. Events 939 - The Major Occultation or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi 1099 - First Crusade: 15000 Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ^[1] His father, who would go onto to be the treasurer and secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal , ran a flourishing print business and was one of the richest men in Kolkata. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB is the governing body for Cricket in West Bengal. ^[10] He had a luxurious childhood, living with over 45 relatives in a joint family in their palatial bungalow in the Kolkata suburb of Behara. As a child, he was nicknamed 'Maharaja', meaning 'king'. ^[2]Though he was asked to concentrate on his studies and not play cricket, he was inspired to do so by his brother Snehasish Ganguly,^[11] an accomplished left handed batsman for Bengal. Snehasish Chandidas Ganguly (born June 11, 1968 in Kolkata) is a former Indian first class cricketer Bengal cricket team is considered Eastern India's strongest cricket team it is the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy and were runners-up twice consecutively in the 2005-06 and ^[10] Though he was acutally right handed, he batted left handed so that he could use his brother's equipment. ^[11]After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. ^[11] An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at home for him and his brother, and he would often watch cricket videos, especially those of David Gower, his hero. David Ivon Gower, OBE (born April 1, 1957) is a retired Cricket player and current cricket broadcaster ^[10]. After he scored a century against the Orissa U-15 side, ^[11] he was made captain of the prestigous St Xavier's School's cricket team^[2]. School Introduction St Xavier's Collegiate School was established in 1860 in Calcutta, India by missionaries of the Society of Jesus. His stint there was controversial as several of his teammates complained against his arrogance. ^[12]

International career

An innings-by-innings breakdown of Ganguly's Test match batting career, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line).

Debut and early career

Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990-91,^[13] Ganguly made his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against West Indies in 1992, ^[1] and scored just 3 runs. The Ranji Trophy is a domestic First-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides equivalent to the County Championship Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing ^[14]He was dropped immediately since he was percieved to be "arrogant" and his attitude to the game was openly questioned. ^[15] He toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons^[16][17]Following an innings of 171 in the 1995-96 Duleep Trophy,^[18] he was recalled to the national side for a tour of England in 1996 amidst intense media scrutiny. The Duleep Trophy is a domestic First-class cricket competition played in India between teams representing geographical zones of India ^[15]. He played in one ODI ^[19], but was omitted from the team for the the first test. However, after Navjot Sidhu left the touring party citing ill-treatment by the capatin Mohammed Azharuddin, ^[20] made his Test debut at Lord's alongside Rahul Dravid, in what was umpire Dickie Bird's last test. Navjot Singh Sidhu (ਨਵਜੋਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਿੱਧੂ born October 20, 1963) is former Indian Mohammad Azharuddin (born 8 February 1963 Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh) is a former captain of the Indian cricket team. Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket Rahul Sharad Dravid ( Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड) (b Harold Dennis Bird MBE, commonly known as "Dickie" Bird (born in Barnsley, Yorkshire on April 19, 1933) is a ^[21]. He scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to score a century on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket Harry Graham is a name shared by the following individuals Harry Graham (cricketer (1870&ndash1911 Australian right-handed batsman whose career lasted from John Harry Hampshire (born February 10 1941 Thurnscoe Yorkshire) better known as Jackie Hampshire was an English Cricketer Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but his 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at Lord's. Andrew John Strauss MBE, (born 2 March 1977 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is an English Cricketer who plays County cricket for Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982 is an English ODI and Test Cricketer who plays domestic cricket for Sussex. Lord's Cricket Ground (generally known as Lord's) is a cricket ^[22]. In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only the 3rd batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County Cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, Lawrence George Rowe (born January 8, 1949 in Kingston, Jamaica) was a West Indian Cricketer Lawrence also known Alvin Isaac Kallicharran (born 21 March 1949 was a West Indian batsman of Indo-Guyanese ethnicity who played from 1972 to 1981 He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any country for any wicket outside India. ^[23]

Opening in ODIs

In 1997 Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century, opening the innings he scored 113, in his side's 238, against Sri Lanka later that year he won four consecutive Man of the match awards in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan the second of these was won after he took 5/16 off 10 overs, his best bowling in a ODI. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. The Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international Cricket team representing Pakistan. After a barren run in Test cricket his form returned at the end of the year with three centuries in four Tests all against Sri Lanka two of this involved 250+ stands with Sachin Tendulkar.

In January 1998, he had one of his most memorable performances in the final of the Independence Cup at Dhaka against Pakistan he scored 124 as India successfully chased down 315 off 48 overs, winning the Man of the match award. In March 1998 he was part of the India team that beat Australia his biggest impact came in Calcutta as he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace. The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia.

In the 1999 World Cup Ganguly smashed 183 against Sri Lanka at Taunton, the innings took 158 balls and included 17 fours and 7 sixes. The 1999 Cricket World Cup was hosted primarily by England, but Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands also hosted some games Taunton is the County town of Somerset, England. The Unparished area (or former Municipal borough) of Taunton has a Population It is the second highest in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest ever in the World Cup and is the second highest in all ODI cricket. Rahul Sharad Dravid ( Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड) (b

In 1999/00 India lost series to both Australia and South Africa in the five Tests Ganguly struggled scoring 224 runs at 22. 40. However his ODI form was impressive with five centuries over the season taking him to the top of PwC One Day Ratings for batsmen. ^[24]

Ascension to captaincy

In 2000, after the match fixing scandal Ganguly was named the captain of the India team. In the Champions Trophy of that year he scored 2 centuries but his second in the final was in vain as New Zealand won by four wickets. The New Zealand cricket team, also known as the Black Caps or BLACKCAPS, played their first Test in 1929-30 against England in Christchurch

In 2003 under his captaincy India reached the World Cup Final, where they lost to the Australians.

While he has achieved significant success as captain, his individual performance deteriorated during his captaincy, especially after successes in the World Cup, the tour of Australia in 2003 and the Pakistan series in 2004. Following indifferent form in 2004 and poor form in 2005, he was dropped from the team in October 2005. He remained active on the first-class cricket scene in hopes of a recall, but his performance was a mixed bag - he hit a couple of centuries in domestic cricket, but his English county stint in 2005 and subsequent appearances in the Challenger Trophy were failures.

Ganguly has 22 centuries in ODIs, in terms of number of centuries in ODIs, he is only behind ^[25] Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya and Ricky Ponting. Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (born 30 June, 1969 in Matara) is a Sri Lankan Cricketer The All-rounder has been a member Ricky Thomas Ponting (born 19 December 1974 is a professional Australian Cricketer and current captain of the Australian cricket team in One Day International Sourav, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed by far the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48. 98, now with Sachin he is a world record holder for creating most no. of 50 run partnership in the first wicket(44 fifties) ^[26].

Ganguly is the fourth player to cross 11,000 ODI runs and third player to cross 10,000 ODI runs and so far the fastest in ODI history, after Sachin Tendulkar. He also reached 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 ODI runs milestones in the fewest number of matches. Sourav can bowl medium-pacers as well, but has under-achieved in this aspect in Test matches, taking 31 wickets in 99 matches, at an average of 52. 47. As of 2006, he is the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan (although two of the three tests of that series was led by Rahul Dravid). He is also one of the 3 players in the world to achieve amazing treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODI cricket history, the others being Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya. Sanath Teran Jayasuriya (born 30 June, 1969 in Matara) is a Sri Lankan Cricketer The All-rounder has been a member

In 2004, he was awarded the Padma Shri. Padma Shri (also spelt Padma Shree, Padmashree, Padma Sree and Padma Sri) is an award given by the Government of India generally

His older brother Snehasish Ganguly played first-class cricket for Bengal. Snehasish Chandidas Ganguly (born June 11, 1968 in Kolkata) is a former Indian first class cricketer Bengal cricket team is considered Eastern India's strongest cricket team it is the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy and were runners-up twice consecutively in the 2005-06 and

Ganguly's international cricket career could be bisected into 2 halves, the pre and the post Y2K eras. The Year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem, the millennium bug, the Y2K bug, or simply Y2K) was a notable Computer bug resulting The significance of the year 2000 lies not only in the fact that he became the captain of the Indian team but also in the fact that the ICC introduced the one bouncer per over rule in ODIs starting from that year. This introduction of the rule by the ICC had a negative impact on Sourav Ganguly's batting average, which plunged from a high 45. 5 before the year 2000 to a low 34. 9 between the 5 year period of 2001-2005 ^[27]. Also, against Test playing nations (which included Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), his overall average plunged further down to 30. 66, as did his 'away' average which fell to 29. He managed to score only (6) centuries between 2001-2005, of which 3 centuries were against Kenya & 1 was against Namibia. ^[28] This sudden drop in his batting average against Test playing nations after 2001 was clearly a result of the short pitched bowling he had to encounter from opposition bowlers. As S. Rajesh, the assistant editor of Cricinfo analyzes, Ganguly has been dismissed numerous times fending off the short ball. Cricinfo is the largest Cricket -related website and one of the largest websites in the world with more than 20 million users ^[29]

Also, Ganguly's Test career had been riddled with lean patches, the first of which stretched for 3 years from Dec 1999 to Dec 2002 ^[30], during which his batting average fell to 31. 77 in 36 consecutive Test matches over 60 innings. The next biggest lean patch of his career occurred after the 2003 World Cup, when his ODI average fell to 28 and this was when his place in the team was questioned by numerous Indian cricket fans. He averaged 24. 95 in 25 ODI matches between August 2004 and September 2005 ^[31], before being finally dropped from the ODI side.

It was, however, as captain of the Indian team that Ganguly's biggest achievements occurred. He led India in 49 Test Matches, winning 21 of those, including 12 of them outside India. All three figures are records for Indian Test captains. He also led India to their first series wins in both Tests and ODIs in Pakistan, a feat that had eluded India for over 50 years. Ganguly also led India to more Test wins (12) outside India between 2000 and 2005 than all Indian captains had done between 1980 and 2000. He led India to victory over Steve Waugh's Australia in the 2001 Border-Gavaskar trophy which is considered one of the greatest in Indian cricket history.

Rahul Dravid once commented, "On the off-side, first there is God, then there is Ganguly”.

Comeback

Following India's poor batting display in the ICC Champions Trophy 2006^[32] and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4-0,^[33], Ganguly made his comeback to the test team. The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International Cricket tournament second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. ^[34] Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad,^[35] in what was seen as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy. Wasim Jaffer (born February 16 1978 in Bombay - now Mumbai) is an Indian Cricketer and a prolific scorer in Indian domestic cricket Zaheer Khan (born 7 October 1978 Srirampur town in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra) is an Indian Cricketer who has been a member of the Indian Anil Kumble (ಅನಿಲ್ ಕುಂಬ್ಳೆ (born 17 October 1970 in Bangalore, Karnataka) is an Indian Cricketer He is a right-arm Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the ^[36]Coming in at 37/4, he scored 83 in a tour match against the Rest of South Africa, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard, ^[37]an innings that set up a victory for India. ^[38] In his first test innings since his comeback, against the Proteas in Johannesburg, he scored 51 in a low scoring game, an innings that helped India win a test match in South Africa for the first time. The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa Wanderers Stadium is a Stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa ^[39] Though India went on to lose the series, he topped the run scroing charts for his side. ^[40]

After his successful Test comeback he was recalled for the ODI team, as India played host to West Indies^[41] and Sri Lanka^[42] in back to back ODI tournaments. Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. In his first ODI innings in almost 2 years,^[43] he scored a matchwinning 98^[44]. He performed creditably in both series, averaging almost 70^[45] and won the Man of the Series Award against Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. ^[46]

2007 World Cup and aftermath

Following his good performance, Ganguly was named in the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was a Men 's Cricket Tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007 using the sport's He was the leading scorer for India in their first round defeat against Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi cricket team, also known as "The Tigers", is a national Cricket team representing Bangladesh. ^[47] After India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, there were reports of a rift between certain members of the Indian team and their coach Greg Chappell. Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the Ganguly, allegedly, ignored instructions from the team managment to score quickly. ^[48]After Sachin Tendulkar issued a statement saying that what hurt the team most was that "the coach has questioned our attitude", Chappell decided not to renew his contract with the Indian team. Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the The Indian cricket team is an international Cricket team representing India. ^[49]

On December 12, 2007, Ganguly scored his maiden double century of his career while playing against Pakistan in the first innings of the third and final test match of the series. He was involved in a 300 run partnership for the 5th wicket along with Yuvraj Singh - a much needed partnership that saved India which was struggling at 61 for the fall of four wickets. He later went on to score 239 before being dismissed by Danish Kaneria.

On April 18,2008, Ganguly led the Kolkata Knight Riders team owned by Shah Rukh Khan in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match to a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers led by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya. Kolkata Knight Riders (also referred to as KKR) is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket Twenty20 is a form of Cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board Rahul Sharad Dravid ( Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड) (b Dr Vijay Mallya ( Kannada / Konkani: ವಿಜಯ ಮಲ್ಯ: (born December 18, 1955) is an Indian businessman and Rajya Sabha Ganguly opened the innings with Brendan McCullum and scored 10 runs while his partner Brendan McCullum remained unbeaten blasting his way to a record 158* runs in 73 balls. Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981 in Dunedin) is a New Zealand Test cricketer Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981 in Dunedin) is a New Zealand Test cricketer On May 1st in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his highest score of the season and his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130. 76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders.

Ganguly has been prolific in both Test and ODI cricket in the year 2007. He scored 1106 Test runs at an average of 61. 44 (with three centuries and four fifties) in 2007 to become the second highest rungetter in Test matches of that year^[50] after Jacques Kallis. Jacques Henry Kallis (born 16 October 1975 in Pinelands Cape Town) is a South African Cricketer As an all-rounder He is the fifth highest rungetter in 2007 in ODIs,^[51] where he scored 1240 runs at 44. 28.

Playing Style

Sourav Ganguly is a left-handed batsman who favors to get most of his runs on off-side. Throughout his career, he has played off-side shots such as square cut, square drive and cover drive with elegance and complete command. Initially in his career he was not very comfortable with hook and pull shots, often giving his wicket away with mistiming such shots. He was also criticized for having difficulty in handling short pitched balls and bouncers. However, after his comeback, he has worked upon these weaknesses to a large extent. He can hit powerful shots to off-side on both front foot and back foot with equal ease.

In One Day Internationals, where he usually opens the innings, he tries to take the advantage of fielding restrictions by advancing down the pitch and hitting the seam bowlers over extra cover and mid-off to get quick boundaries. Note Most of the information here pertains to men's cricket ODI matches are also played in Women's cricket. He also likes to go after left arm spin bowlers. In Cricket terminology, a Batsman who bats Left handed is described as a 'left hand' bat Due to excellent hand-eye coordination, he can pick the length of the ball early and plays his most trademark shot which is "charging down the wicket against left-arm spinners and hitting the ball over mid-on or midwicket". Eye–hand (alternatively hand–eye) coordination refers to the control of eye movement and the processing of visual input to guide bodily movement However, he is not good in terms of running between the wickets and judging quick singles. There has been few incidences where batsman at other end being out due to Ganguly's calling for a run and then sending him back halfway through the run.

Ganguly is a right arm medium pace bowler. In Cricket terminology, a Batsman who bats Right handed is described as a 'right hand' bat He can swing the ball in both ways and often chips in with useful wickets to break partnerships. In spite of not being very athletic as a fielder, Ganguly has taken 100 catches in one-day Internationals. Fielding in the Sport of Cricket is what fielders do to collect the ball when it is struck by the Batsman, in such a way as to either

Controversies

County Cricket

Ganguly's County cricket career in England was not a success. In "The Wisden Cricketer" [2] it was described as follows: "The imperious Indian - dubbed 'Lord Snooty' - deigned to represent Lancashire in 2000. The Wisden Cricketer is a monthly Cricket Magazine. It was published by the specialist cricket publisher Wisden in England until being acquired At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match Ganguly, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted. He did not inspire at Glamorgan or Northamptonshire either. At the latter in 2006 he averaged 4. 80 from his four first-class appearances. "

The Chappell - Ganguly controversy

Main article: Chappell Ganguly controversy

His dispute with then coach Greg Chappell resulted in many headlines during 2005 and early 2006. The Chappell Ganguly controversy was a series of events in late 2005 and early 2006 which involved highly publicised infighting in the Indian cricket team between the then newly Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the Greg Chappell emailed the BCCI stating that Ganguly was unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the World Cup 2011 India Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be jointly hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Eventually due to his poor form and differences with the coach he was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the team. However 10 months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form. Suresh Kumar Raina (born 27 November 1986 Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India is an Indian Cricketer from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Mohammad Kaif (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian Cricketer more specifically

Shirt take-off at Lords

The shirt that Ganguly took off during the celebrative mood after his team surprising win in Natwest Series Final

During the final match of the 2002 Natwest Trophy held in Lords after a stunning performance by team mates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Sourav Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. Yuvraj Singh (ਯੁਵਰਾਜ ਸਿੰਘ born 12 December 1981 in Chandigarh, India is a Cricketer from India and the son of former Indian fast bowler Mohammad Kaif (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian Cricketer more specifically He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the gentleman's game image of cricket and disrespecting Lords protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India. Andrew Flintoff, MBE, (born 6 December 1977 in Preston, Lancashire) is a Cricketer who plays for Lancashire and England.

Other controversies

Ganguly is an aggressive player and has often attracted controversy. He has attracted the wrath of match referrees quite a few times, the most severe of which was a ban for 6 matches by ICC match referee Clive Lloyd for slow over rates against Pakistan and therefore his tour to Sri Lanka for the Indian Oil Cup 2005 was uncertain. The International Cricket Council (ICC is the international governing body of Cricket. Clive Hubert Lloyd CBE born 31 August 1944 in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) is a former West Indies Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island The Indian Oil Cup 2005 was a three-team Cricket tournament which took place in Sri Lanka in July and August 2005, between the hosts Sri Lanka These circumstances led to Rahul Dravid being made captain for the tour. Rahul Sharad Dravid ( Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड) (b Later, Justice Albey Sachs reduced the punishment from 6 matches to 4, and this permitted Ganguly to join the team, but as a player and not captain. In his opening match he made the highest score of the side (51) taking (110) balls[3]. He was again named captain for the Zimbabwe tour of August-September 2005. With this, he has captained India in the highest number of Tests (49).

During the 2003 World Cup final against Australia, Ganguly won the toss and decided to field. The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. This decision raised eyebrows but Sourav remained confident that there would be moisture on the pitch that would help his bowlers, however the bowlers flopped and Sourav performed poorly with the bat. India went on to lose by 125 runs, a staggering defeat.

Ganguly's performance in the last couple of seasons has been really poor. This put his place in the Indian team under pressure. In the tour of Zimbabwe, in which he was newly reinstated as skipper, Ganguly ground out a painfully slow century, against what is regarded as one of the weakest bowling attacks in international cricket. The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Zimbabwe. During the match he told reporters that newly-appointed coach Greg Chappell had asked him to stand down as captain - a comment which Chappell later played down. Gregory Stephen Chappell, MBE (born 7 August 1948 in Unley South Australia) is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the However, forty-eight hours after saying that he respected the Indian captain and looked forward to working with him in the future, Chappell sent an email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Both Ganguly and Chappell were summoned to a BCCI board meeting in which they agreed to work together for the good of the team. Rahul Dravid was appointed captain for the series against Sri Lanka and South Africa after Ganguly was not selected for the opening games due to injury. Rahul Sharad Dravid ( Kannada:ರಾಹುಲ್ ಶರದ್ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ Marathi:राहुल शरद द्रविड) (b The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national Cricket team representing South Africa When the two series got over, Rahul Dravid was asked to continue as skipper.

On November 22, 2005, Ganguly stepped down as captain of Bengal cricket team after being replaced as captain of the Indian Test team. Events 498 - Kofi Aseidu- After the death of Anastasius II, Symmachus is elected Pope in the Lateran Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bengal cricket team is considered Eastern India's strongest cricket team it is the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy and were runners-up twice consecutively in the 2005-06 and He played in the first two Test matches in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka. However, on December 14, he was controversially dropped, for the third Test at Ahmedabad, to make way for Wasim Jaffer, an opening batsman for Mumbai. Events 1287 - St Lucia's flood: The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses killing over 50000 people Ahmedabad (અમદાવાદ Amdāvād, Hindi: अहमदाबाद) is the largest city in Wasim Jaffer (born February 16 1978 in Bombay - now Mumbai) is an Indian Cricketer and a prolific scorer in Indian domestic cricket The Mumbai cricket team is a Cricket team representing the city of Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket Jaffer was picked by the selectors as they wished to build up a player selection pool with sufficient experience to succeed at international level.

Despite this, he retained his A-grade contract from the BCCI, in December 2005. World Cup 2011 India Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be jointly hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Following the drop, fans blocked roads and railway tracks in Kolkata, burning effigies of chief selector Kiran More and Indian coach Chappell, and the urban development minister of West Bengal, Asoke Bhattacharya, said Ganguly was a victim of the internal politics of the BCCI. Kiran Shankar More (pronounced Mo-ray (born September 4, 1962 in Baroda, Gujarat, India) was the Wicket-keeper for the West Bengal ( Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Poshchim Bônggo poʃtʃim bɔŋgo is a state in eastern India. ^[52] Cricinfo editor Sambit Bal wrote in a commentary that this was in all probability . Sambit Bal is an Indian journalist He spent 15 years in mainstream journalism working in some India's leading publishing house before joining Wisden in 2001 . . the end of the road for him. ^[53] However, it was announced on December 25, 2005 that he was selected as part of the Indian team to tour Pakistan. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kiran More cited his experience as the key reason, with Mohammed Kaif being dropped. Mohammad Kaif (born December 1, 1980 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an Indian Cricketer more specifically ^[54] He was in the playing XI in the Lahore and Karachi Tests, but was dropped for the Faisalabad match. ( is a city located in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. It was formerly known as Lyallpur. He was unable to play in the England home series and the West Indies tour. The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as The Windies or The West Indies, is a multi-national Cricket team representing He was also not selected for the following Tri-series in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka. However, he was chosen amongst 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy after being left out in the dark for almost close to a year. Ganguly failed in the Challenger Trophy, however, managing less than 30 runs in two games, and so the chances of recall to the ODI side look bleak.

Ganguly later sent an email hitting out at his one time mentor saying that Jagmohan Dalmiya did not deserve to become CAB president as he had played with his career and that Ganguly was a victim of internal politics within the BCCI. Jagmohan Dalmiya, born in Calcutta, India on May 30, 1940, is a well-known Indian cricket administrator This was in the backdrop of the CAB elections which Jagmohan Dalmiya won. Jagmohan Dalmiya, born in Calcutta, India on May 30, 1940, is a well-known Indian cricket administrator

Records

Test

• Captained India in a record 49 Test matches ^[55]
• Led India to a record 21 Test wins^[56]
• His test average has never never been less than 40. ^[57]

ODIs

• Hold the record of most 200+ ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
• Holds the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for most 1st wicket ODI partnerships of 175+ runs (7 times).
• Holds the record, shared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999. Mahendra Singh Dhoni or MS Dhoni ( Hindi:महेन्द्र सिंह धोनी (born July 7 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand) is an Indian The Sri Lankan cricket team is a national Cricket team representing Sri Lanka.
• Held the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for the highest first wicket partnership for India in a ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international Cricket matches This record was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley. Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England.
• Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid.
• Sixth on the all time list with 31 man of the match awards.
• He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs.
• India's most successful ODI captain.
• First Indian to score a ODI century against Australia in Australia. The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.
• Highest ODI runs scorer in the world (in a calendar year) in 1997,1999,2000.
• Third in the list of hitting maximum number of sixes in ODIs.
• Second in the list of highest number of centuries in a single calendar year ever. 7 centuries in 2000.

Man of the Series awards

3 Awards in Test cricket

7 Awards in ODI cricket

Man of the Match awards

6 Awards in Test cricket

31 Awards in ODI

References

External links

• Cricinfo Player Profile : Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
• Cumulative Career Averages
• Fastest To Reach Multiples
• Sourav Ganguly News Articles