Dada, Prince of Kolkata, God of the Offside—Sourav Ganguly goes by many names. One of India's most successful captains and a leading batsman of his time, he is today the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 at Calcutta. Left-handed opening batsman and right arm medium pace bowler, Ganguly made his debut for India in the World Series against the West Indies at Brisbane in 1991-92. However, he had to sit out till 1996 to play his first Test. He commenced his Test career at Lord's in 1996 scoring a magnificent hundred on debut, becoming only the third cricketer to achieve such a feat at Lord's.

Ganguly has played 113 Tests, scoring 7,212 runs with 16 hundreds and a highest score of 239. He has also captured 32 Test wickets. In 311 one-day internationals, he has scored over 11,000 runs with 22 hundreds and a highest score of 183. He has also captured 100 wickets.

A blend of elegance and power, he could pierce the strongest of off-side fields with his sweetly timed cover drives, and his straight lofted shots 'reserved for one day matches', which were worth going miles to see. His strong point over the years was his temperament and his will to succeed in whatever he does on the cricket field. A swing bowler who could break partnerships in the shorter version of the game with his accurate out swingers, he was a very effective bowler.

An unassuming and popular leader, Ganguly led India with a lot of imagination—he had succeeded in making his side one of the best in the world under his captaincy. Series wins over Australia at home and against Pakistan in Pakistan, and the confident march to the World Cup final in 2003 cemented his place in cricket's hall of fame. His greatest legacy is nurturing young talent and creating champions like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, M S Dhoni, and Zaheer Khan.