Assembly elections are due in West Bengal next year. It is being speculated that Sourav Ganguly, former captain of the Indian cricket team famous by the nicknames of Maharaj, Dada and The Pride of Kolkata, can step into politics.
TMC MP Saugata Roy says that Sourav Ganguly is an icon for all Bengalis, I will not be happy if he enters politics. He was the only cricket captain from Bengal, also famous because of the TV show. He has no background in politics, so he will not be able to survive here.
Let’s look at the BCCI President’s family background and cricket journey.
Nirodkant Ganguly, one of the celebrities of Kolkata, was the owner of NC Gonshai Press. His elder son Chandi Ganguly was a cricketer. He later took charge of the Cricket Association of Bengal. He was also in the BCCI subcommittee. It is clear that cricket culture existed in the Ganguly family long back.
Chandi Ganguly has two sons. Snehasish and Saurav. In childhood, Snehasish had a keen interest in playing cricket and the Ganguly family took it seriously. In contrast, Sourav had no passion for cricket, rather he loved football. Sourav’s maternal uncle’s family also had a connection with cricket at that time. His maternal grandfather Sachchidanand Chatterjee was a founding member of the Baroda Sporting Club, while Mama Arup Chatterjee played cricket.
Sourav was growing up in a cricket environment from a very young age. Though he had a fondness for football since childhood, Sourav’s inclination towards cricket was slowly progressing towards his elder brother Snehasish. In 1986, Sourav got a place in the Bengal Under-15 team. This opened the doors to various levels of cricket for Sourav. Under-19, India School Team, Kailash Ghatani’s Star Club From Mumbai to England … ie Saurav’s cricket journey had started.
Sourav was called up for the Bengal Ranji Trophy in the 1989–90 season, although he was not selected in the playing XI of Bengal. Arun Lal, Ashok Malhotra, Pranab Roy, Raja Benkat and Snehasish himself were running in superb form. Ranji was the final in Eden Gardens. The rival team was Delhi. A day before the match, captain Sambaran Banerjee said that he would need a strong bowler. The only option is Sourav, but who will sit outside? In the end, Sourav was included in the Bengal team and Snehasish was out. If Snehashish had played in that match, today’s picture could have been completely different.
In 1992, Sourav was included in the senior cricket team. The Indian team was on a tour of Australia. Sourav scored just 3 runs in the tri-series. He was then dropped from the team. It was said that Sourav was not given a place in the national team due to his arrogance. There are even jokes about the name ‘Maharaj’.
Four years later India toured England. Sourav got a place in the Indian cricket team as an all-rounder. He made his Test debut at Lord’s. Sourav is the third cricketer after Harry Graham and John Hampshire to score a century while making his Test debut at Lord’s. The next Test match was in Trent Bridge, there was a brilliant innings of 136 runs with the bat of Sourav. After that they did not have to look back.
After returning from England, Sourav got married. The bride was Donna Roy. At that time, the Roy family and the Ganguly family did not have good relations. Sourav ignored it and married Donna in February 1997. Donna is an Odyssey dancer by profession. He learned dance from Kelucharan Mohapatra. He currently has a dance school named DeekshaManjari.
In 2000, fixing in cricket was taking place. In such a situation, there was a discussion of handing over the reins of Indian cricket to someone whose image is very clear. The captain of the Indian cricket team was handed over to Sourav when Sachin refused captaincy.
India has won 21 of 49 Test matches under Sourav’s captaincy. The winning percentage is 42.85. On the other hand, he has won 76 out of 148 ODIs. The winning percentage is 53.90. The Indian cricket team led by Sourav never played a T20 match. However, he has led Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors in the IPL tournament.
Sourav looks at the figures of Ganguly’s runs. Sourav has scored 7,212 runs in 113 Tests. 16 of them are centuries. On the other hand, he has scored 11,363 runs in 311 ODIs, including 22 centuries.
After retiring from cricket, Sourav has also played a skilled role as an administrator. He became the second Indian cricketer to be elected President of the Board of Cricket in India after the Maharaja of Vizianagaram in 1954. He was successful in getting IPL 2020 in the Corona era also.
Recent figures show that Sourav has an estimated assets of Rs 350 crore. Apart from this, the brand value of Sourav is also very high. He has also earned a lot as a commentator since retiring from cricket.
Apart from co-owner of ATK Mohun Bagan in ISL (Indian Super League), Sourav is also the chairman of the Indian Cricket Board. By next year, Sourav’s income may increase by 60 percent. Apart from this, the estimated value of his personal property is about 45 crores, luxury cars are about 7 crores. He gets around Rs 5 crore from BCCI and earns an estimated Rs 2-3 crore a year from various brand endorsements.
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