Happy birthday Sourav Ganguly: Wishes pour in for ‘undisputed Dada of Indian cricket’

Cricketers and fans took to social media to wish former India captain Sourav Ganguly on his 48th birthday

Bengaluru: The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former India captain Sourav Ganguly is celebrating his 48th birthday today (July 8). Cricketers and fans took to social media to wish ‘Dada’.

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar led the wishes for Ganguly as he wrote on his Twitter account, “Happy birthday Dadi! Hope our off-field partnership keeps going strong like our on-field ones. Wish you a blessed year ahead.”

India captain Virat Kohli tweeted, “Happy birthday dada. God bless you @SGanguly99.”

World Cup 2011 hero and former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hailed Ganguly as the “undisputed Dada of Indian cricket”.

He wrote on Twitter, “Happy Birthday to the undisputed Dada of Indian Cricket Birthday cake You have always led from the front, showing us what it means to be a true leader. I have learnt a lot from you & hope to become to others what you are to me. You are our eternal captainPerson bowing deeply @SGanguly99 #HappyBirthdayDada (sic).”

Born on July 8, 1972, Ganguly turned the fortunes of Indian cricket in the early 2000s. He was instrumental in making the team believe that they could win overseas. Also, he backed youngsters and made them into match-winners for the country. Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Mohammad Kaif and others enjoyed the support of captain Ganguly when they arrived on the international scene.

Ganguly led India to the final of World Cup 2003. He played in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs between 1996 and 2008. Last year, he took charge as BCCI president.