Cricketers pay tribute to Sourav Ganguly as 'Dada' turns 45

Sourav Ganguly, the man who taught the Indian team to fight like a tiger, the man who taught the Indian team to never give up, the man who brought in a revolution to Indian cricket, turned a year older today. 8^th of July, a day after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s birthday, our beloved ‘Dada’ celebrates his 45^th birthday.

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Cricketers all over the world paid tribute to the warrior as Ganguly’s Twitter account got flooded with wishes. Ganguly announced himself to the world by scoring a brilliant century at Lords in his debut Test in 1996. The left-handed genius then went to lead India in 49 Test and 147 ODI’s. Ganguly’s contribution to Indian cricket will always be special as the boy from Bengal established himself as one of India’s greatest captains.

One of the highlights of his tenure as a captain was when the shrewd leader took an Indian side filled with youngsters all the way to the ICC World Cup final in 2003. Ganguly will always be known for his incredible faith in the promising talents at that time which includes the likes Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.

Today everyone attached with the world of cricket knows how these cricketers have repaid the captain, and what they went on to become. Who can forget the famous NatWest series at Lords when two raw talents in the name of Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh played the innings of their lives to secure an emphatic win. In 2001, when the BCCI was reluctant to take go with Harbhajan Singh in the home series against Australia, an adamant Ganguly stepped up and said that he won’t leave the room until he sees Harbhajan’s name on that list. For all of us to be proud of, Harbhajan Singh grabbed the Man of the Series award and also claimed a hat-trick and a new star was born.

Today, on Ganguly’s birthday all his colleagues showered him with praises and the current generation of cricketers also showed their respect towards the ‘God of offside’, as termed by the one and only Rahul Dravid. Here is look at a few:

#HappyBirthdayDada! It was always a pleasure to play with you, @SGanguly99! Have a good one! pic.twitter.com/CcG75sqJH4

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2017

Wishing dearest @SGanguly99 many happy returns of the day lots of love dadi. pic.twitter.com/aayhy5VFWa

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 8, 2017

#HappyBirthdayDada! You've always been an inspiration and a true hero. Have a great one, @SGanguly99 ?? God bless you ? #Topman ?

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 8, 2017

#HappyBirthdayDada ,the man who brought about a great transition in Indian cricket. Forever a legend @SGanguly99 ! May you have a grt life. pic.twitter.com/nfeaCKfIrT

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 8, 2017

Happy birthday @SGanguly99 ???Have a gr8 day and a fruitful year dada?

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) July 8, 2017

Pro Tip-While with Dada,best to be on his leg side.On the offside,ball or human it's a boundary. In this pic,Bat is on his left.#OffSideGod pic.twitter.com/aBlnHHjKdo

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 8, 2017

Pro Tip-While with Dada,best to be on his leg side.On the offside,ball or human it's a boundary. In this pic,Bat is on his left.#OffSideGod pic.twitter.com/aBlnHHjKdo

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) July 8, 2017

Many many happy returns of the day dada! Hope you continue to show direction to #bengal cricket as always! @SGanguly99 #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/hpptfaw10L

— Pragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) July 7, 2017

Happy birthday to the man who has given us innumerable moments to cherish. Happy birthday, @SGanguly99!

— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) July 8, 2017

A very #HappyBirthdayDada ??✨ Wishing you many healthy, happy and joyful years ahead. @SGanguly99 ?? pic.twitter.com/siskfh7JuL

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) July 8, 2017

@SGanguly99 Wish you a very Happy Birthday Dada. Have a Fab Year Ahead! #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/xJmOoe53R4

— Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) July 8, 2017

To the person who changed the direction of Indian cricket through his captaincy, Many happy returns of the day Dada @SGanguly99

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) July 8, 2017

Every time I ran up to ball the words I kept hearing "tu bindaast daal re patsy" wishing happy brithday to most amazing captain @SGanguly99 pic.twitter.com/XPXk7twyPf

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 8, 2017

A very #HappyBirthdayDada ??✨ Wishing you many healthy, happy and joyful years ahead. @SGanguly99 ?? pic.twitter.com/siskfh7JuL

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) July 8, 2017