Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly celebrates his 51st birthday on July 8th, 2023. Wishes poured in from all corners for the elegant left-hander who had ushered Indian cricket to new heights at the turn of the century.
Social media was flooded with lovely and admiring messages and wishes as Sourav Ganguly turned 51 on the age clock. A very special, and a hilarious wish, came from Ganguly’s former teammate, close friend and opening partner, Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly formed arguably not just India’s best ODI opening pair but perhaps the greatest in ODI history. As openers, Tendulkar and Ganguly together amassed 6609 runs in ODIs – the most in the history of the format – at an average of 49 with 21-century stands in 136 matches.
Sachin Tendulkar’s funny wish for Sourav Ganguly’s 51st birthday
Sachin Tendulkar hailed Ganguly for his stunning offside play. While Tendulkar is labelled as the ‘God of Cricket’, people also lavish Ganguly as the ‘God on the offside’ as he looked the most elegant and in control when stroking beautful shots on the offside. And while the world nicknames Ganguly as ‘Dada’, Tendulkar jovially calls him as ‘Dadi’.
“Dadi is one man who would even celebrate his birthday on the offside. That’s how much he loved the offside. Happy birthday, my friend! @SGanguly99,” Sachin Tendulkar tweeted.
Dadi is one man who would even celebrate his birthday on the offside. That’s how much he loved the offside. Happy birthday, my friend! @SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/KgYPnLqNRl
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2023
The former India captain Ganguly is said to have put in the stones of the victory of the Indian team in the 2011 World Cup and their success. Ganguly is often credited for backing the likes of Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer, and Nehra when they were youngsters and upcoming cricketers.
While there weren’t a lot of big trophies India won under Ganguly, but some of their best performances came in winning the 2002 Natwest series in England and reaching the final of the 2003 World Cup, and becoming the joint winners of the 2002 Champions Trophy.
After retirement, Ganguly became the CAB President and then the BCCI President, although his tenure in the BCCI was marred by the controversy with Virat Kohli. He is currently with the Delhi Capitals as a mentor.
