Former India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly turns 49 today, on July 8. He captained India between the years 2000 and 2005 and led the side to a number of memorable triumphs. Under his leadership, India won 21 out of the 49 matches and Rahul Dravid was a pivotal member of all the teams. The duo made their debut together and spent a large chunk of their careers playing with one another sharing great camaraderie.
Even when they retired, this bond continued. Sourav Ganguly is currently the president of the BCCI, while Rahul Dravid is the head of the National Cricket Academy and is now the coach of the Indian side that is currently touring Sri Lanka.
Ganguly has scored more than 18 thousand runs in international cricket and was also a handy bowler in seamer-friendly conditions. He has picked up 32 Test and 100 ODI wickets and kept chipping in with useful overs to give rest to the frontline bowlers.
Back in 2014, when India were touring England Dravid and Ganguly were both part of the commentary team and this was when there was a lot of healthy banter between the former India captains in the commentary box. Dravid noted that had Ganguly been a yard quicker and fitter, he would have been a much better bowler in English conditions.
This is how the conversation panned out.
Rahul Dravid: Sanjay Manjrekar made a really good point in the commentary box. If Ganguly had been a yard quicker and just a little bit fitter, he would have been a match-winner.
Sourav Ganguly: I wish I was Prime Minister of India. I could have done a whole lot of things.
Back in 2007, Ganguly played under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid when India toured England. In this series, the seamer picked up the wicket of Alastair Cook in the Lord’s and Nottingham Test and played a crucial part in India winning a series in England after 26 years.
