Mumbai: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will be inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame on July 11, TOI has learnt.Ganguly will therefore join an elite list of Indian cricketers to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Other ICC Hall of Famers from India included MS DhoniVirender Sehwag, Vinoo Mankad, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Bishen Singh Bedi and former Indian captain Diana Edulji.Incidentally, on Wednesday (July 8), which was Ganguly’s 54th birthday, the makers of Ganguly’s biopic ‘Dada’ unveiled the first look of the film, with Rajkummar Rao in the titular role. The scene shows Rao twirling his jersey in jubilant celebration after India won the 2002 NatWest Series final against England at Lord’s. A shirtless Ganguly waving his India jersey before running onto the field remains one of the most iconic moments of Indian cricket.Minutes after the poster was unveiled, Ganguly shared it on his social media handle and reacted to RajKummar Rao’s look. Calling it the “best gift ever”, he wrote, “Best gift ever! Can’t wait to see you play my cover gift! @rajkummar_rao.”Ganguly, a former India skipper and celebrated cricketer, who became BCCI president and is currently the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, he has scored 7212 runs in 113 Tests, including 16 centuries and 11363 runs in 311 ODIs, with 22 centuries, while also claiming 132 wickets with his useful medium-pace. Ganguly remains one of the best run-getters in ODI cricket. A force in one-day cricket, he formed a very successful opening pair with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.Known as the ‘God of the off-side’ due to his ability to pierce the off-side field with his breathtaking covers, Ganguly was widely known as one of India’s greatest, graceful batsmen and captains, even getting the great former Australian captain Steve Waugh to bowl during the iconic 2001 Test series!When he took over as India’s captain in 2000, the Indian team was emerging from a dark and desolate phase of matches, perhaps the worst in its history. However, hailed for his aggressive tactics, Ganguly, bringing together a host of world-class cricketers like Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, inspired India to overseas Test victories. Under Ganguly’s leadership, India were joint winners of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002, reached the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa, clinched a Test series in England, won a historic Test series in Pakistan in 2004 and ended Australia’s 16-match winning streak in Kolkata in one of the greatest comebacks in Test history.
