Dadagiri unlimited…!!

Cricket has always been a religion in India & it is no different for me. Sourav Chandidas Ganguly or ‘dada’ (as he is sweetly called by his fans around the globe) is someone whom I truly idolize & admire. He has probably been my biggest source of inspiration. I am actually crazy about him.

“Dada” is & will always remain one of the greatest players of the cricketing fraternity. Titles like:

· “The Prince of Kolkata”- Geoffrey Boycott

· “On the off-side, first there is god and then there is Sourav Ganguly…” – Rahul Dravid

· “The Bengal tiger” …

Have been lovingly bestowed on him…

From the little ‘Maharaj’ born with a golden spoon in a royal Bengali family to becoming the most successful captain of the Indian cricket team in both forms of the game, dada’s journey has indeed been remarkable. Football was his first love & he took cricket seriously only after he was in his 10^th grade.Dada started his ODI career in 1992 against West Indies but was dropped ‘coz of his poor show & was perceived to be arrogant in his game. It was only after him scoring heavily in the domestic cricket for the next two years that he was picked for the England tour in the year 1996 where he surprised everyone with his performance by smashing a century in his debut test at Lord’s… a feat that not much have achieved in the cricketing history. Aggression has always been his asset. With an elegant style probably matchless on the off-side & a murderer against spin dada has been one of the best players the game has seen.

He took over as the Indian captain in the year 2000, when cricket was trapped in the match-fixing quagmire. Fans had almost lost their faith & the biggest stars their sheen. It was said that the worst job in the country at that time was to captain Team India. But unaffected by all these dada took the challenge with full confidence & yet again proved his critics wrong. History will surely remember him for saving the Indian cricket from its deepest low: the shackles of match-fixing. His biggest contribution to Team India has been the winning attitude. It was under him that the team started winning more matches on the foreign soil. He backed and motivated players like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan who went on to contribute significantly in several Indian wins.

Dada always believed in youngsters and taught them how to get together & fight as one unit. He painstakingly backed the raw talent & infused a sense of passion and confidence in them. His methods & madness made him the most colorful skipper. His leadership skills are just phenomenal … something out of the ordinary. The best thing I like about him is his fearless, never say die, aggressive attitude… its something that’s incomparable... There are many historic moments for which he will always be remembered, the biggest being leading team India to the finals of the 2003 World Cup & his much famous shirt-doffing act at Lord’s after India’s victory in the Nat-West series against England in the year 2002…:)

Ups & downs are a part of life & dada’s journey was no different. He was unquestionably one of the most controversial players of the game. It was even said that controversies seem to be his middle name. As a captain he often drove the selectors crazy. Dada has faced hordes of criticism but he never let it bother him. He took it all with a smile on his face & always used to say “you just need to do your work, Let the results take care of themselves”. Nobody other than him probably knows how to answer his critics better. He had to go through a lot of problems in his career: the short-pitch ball nightmares, selection issues, struggle for runs (in later part of his career) & lastly the final face-off with Greg Chappell which was the ugliest chapter in his career. Yet he sat through all this silently.

Talking about his marriage to Dona Ganguly, when parents from both sides kept opposing their relation, secret marriage was his only solution… :) The man definitely knows how to get things done his way, be it cricket or his personal life… :) and that’s something that makes me go fida over him…:)

Can actually go on & on about dada but will fall short of characters. So to sum it all, here are some of my favorite Quotes by dada-

· “There’s no point in playing well & losing”

· “I don’t believe in draws, either you win or you lose”

· “If your job is totally free of problems that’s no job”… :)

On your 38^th birthday here’s wishing you a great year ahead.

Happy birthday dada…!!! :) :) :)