Coordinates	23°32′28″N46°22′08″N
Name	Subrata Roy Sahara
Other names	Saharasri
Birth date	June 10, 1948
Birth place	Araria, Bihar, India
Death date
Residence	Lucknow
Ethnicity	Bengali Hindu
Nationality	Indian
Known for	Owner of Pune Warriors India, Grosvenor House, Aamby Valley City
Occupation	Founder and Chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar
Years active	1948–present
Home town	Lucknow
Spouse	Swapna Roy
Children	2
Website
Footnotes	}}

Subrata Roy Sahara (Bengali:সুব্রত রয় সাহারা; Hindi:सुब्रत रॉय सहारा; born 10 June 1948) also known as ''Saharasri'' is an Indian businessman who is the founder and chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar. He also owns Pune Warriors India, Grosvenor House, Aamby Valley City and has 42.5% stake in Force India.

He is named among the 10 Most Powerful People of India by India Today. His residence is in Lucknow, UP, India. ''Subrata Roy Sahara'' founded Sahara India Pariwar in 1978. In 2004, the group was termed by the Time magazine as ‘the second largest employer in India after the Indian Railways’.

Philosophy of work and life

He has propounded the corporate philosophy of ‘Collective Materialism’, that advocates collective growth through collective sharing and caring. Roy promotes sports at international to regional level. The Sahara group is a sponsor of National Indian Cricket, however, it has been learnt recently that it has withdrawn support to the team due to differences with the BCCI, Hockey Teams and has adopted 91 sportsmen belonging to the four Indian Olympic disciplines of Boxing, Wrestling, Archery, Shooting and Track & Field. The Group also organizes ‘Sahara India Sports Awards' to felicitate the achievement and efforts of Indian sportspersons in their respective fields and provide recognition to the upcoming young talents.

Business

Real Estate

Subrata Roy Sahara established many real estate business which is operated as sahara real estate corporation ltd. and sahara housing investment corporation ltd.

The flagship real estate project ''Sahara City Homes'' chain of townships is proposed to be across 217 cities in India. Recently it has launched Sahara Grace brand Phase II is an outcome of the success achieved by Phase I its of residential complex at Kochi. After Sahara Grace at Gurgaon and Lucknow the Kochi project is the third under this brand which is positioned to provide a product mix of apartments and penthouses to its residents. Other ventures of Sahara real estate business are Sahara States – Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Hyderabad and Bhopal, Brand malls – Sahara Ganj, Lucknow and Sahara Mall, Gurgaon.

Sahara is constructing an eco-friendly self-contained residential city called Amby Valley in Maharashtara near Mumbai Pune expressway. The city is spread over 10000 acres of land.

Media

Subrata Roy Sahara owns the national Hindi News Channel ''Samay'', consisting of 36 city specific regional news channels Sahara Samay, ''Sahara One'', general entertainment channel and a Hindi movie channel ''Filmy''. Sahara Samay received the "Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award" in 2008 for its network newsroom technology. Sahara has recently launched ''FIRANGI'' channel which is positioned as World Television in Hindi.

Subrata Roy Sahara owns one national weekly magazine in English, 7 editions of Hindi Daily Newspaper ''Rashtriya Sahara'', nine editions of Urdu Daily Newspaper ''Roznama Rashtriya Sahara'' and one International Urdu Weekly, Rashtriya Sahara

Film

Subrata Roy Sahara is engaged in business of producing, marketing and distribution of motion pictures in Hindi and other regional Indian languages. Its successes include ''Bewafaa'', ''Page 3'', ''Sarkar'', ''No Entry'', ''Wanted''. In September 2010, the company was in talks to acquire MGM Studios, but the deal collapsed. Sahara is willing to try again to take over MGM.

Subrata Roy Sahara is creating a Film City to provide filmmakers with everything they need to make films, television software and commercials. The existing infrastructure of the Film City will be renovated and equipped with the most modern and latest technology.

Tourism

Subrata Roy Sahara has launched ''Sahara Global'' - an integrated travel and tourism service provider for domestic and international services.

Health care

Subrata Roy Sahara owns a hospital in Lucknow.The hospital was opened in 2009. This hospital got operational in February 2009 and is currently operating with approximately 350 beds, including 120 bed Critical Care Infrastructure and expandable to 554 beds. It is spread on 31 acres and contains a centre for preventive and alternative medicines like Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Naturopathy and Yoga for Holistic approach.

Hospitality

Subrata Roy Sahara owns the hotel "Sahara Star" in Mumbai, A 5-Star Hotel spread over 7.42 acres adjacent to the Mumbai domestic airport. Currently it has 210 guest rooms, 13 suites and 9 restaurants. It contains World's largest pillarless clear-to-sky dome of its kind, World's first Hemisphere-shaped Glass Elevators, Marine Aquarium, Lagoon area, Inward and Outward facing rooms, Glass Roof rooms, Parking and shall have amenities like Sahara Health and Wellness Centre, Multi-cuisine restaurants and Preview theatre. The group also owns the '''Grosvenor House Hotel - London (UK).

Social Services

Subrata Roy directs 25% of the company’s profit towards Social Development activities and 40% towards the welfare of Kartavyayogi workers.. His company is involved in social activities like monthly financial assistance to the families of the Martyrs of the Mumbai terror attack and to the families of Martyrs of Kargil War. He has taken many Disaster Management initiatives at the time of natural disasters which covered more than a million victims. During calamities like super cyclone of Orissa, earthquake in Gujarat, drought in Rajasthan or floods in the state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Sahara provided relocation, rehabilitation of victims and even reconstruction of the calamity struck areas to the Gujarat and Maharashtra earthquakes .. . He is working towards health, education and nutrition programs for children and women, adult literacy and vocational training initiatives. Under his Mobile Health Care (MHU) program, Sahara through its 52 Mobile Healthcare Vans (each equipped with doctors, pharmacists and medicines) is providing free primary health care to the extremely remote and backward areas of 7 districts of India. His group is working for the rehabilitation of physically challenged people, mass marriage ceremonies of 101 underprivileged girls on annual basis and support to National Cadet Corps (NCC) forms part of Sahara’s universe of concern.Added some content to this info.

Awards

Subrata Roy Sahara recently got "Indian Business Icon of the Year Award" at Powerbrands Hall of Fame Awards function at London for his entrepreneurship and achievements in various fields. The award was jointly presented to him by Ruby Dhalla, Canadian MP, Priti Patel, British MP and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri. He has been also rewarded with Lakshya-2010 Business Visionary Award for his excellence in managing his organization with proficiency.He has been the ITA – TV Icon of the Year 2007. He has received the Global Leadership Award in 2004. He was also awarded with Businessmen of the Year Award in the year 2002, the Best Industrialist Award in the year 2002, and National Citizen Award in the year 2001 for his entrepreneurship skills. He won the Academy Award in Indian Television Academy Awards for his contribution to Indian Television. Recently he has been awarded with honorary degree of D. Litt. by Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga.

See Also

Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium

References

External links

Official Website of 'Saharasri' Subrata Roy Sahara

Sahara Group Official Website

Category:Indian businesspeople Category:People from Lucknow Category:Living people Category:1947 births

Coordinates	23°32′28″N46°22′08″N
playername	Sachin Tendulkar
country	India
fullname	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
nickname	Little Master, Tendlya
living	true
dayofbirth	24
monthofbirth	4
yearofbirth	1973
placeofbirth	Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	5
heightm	1.66
role	Batsman
oneit20	true
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right-arm leg spin, off spin, medium pace
international	true
testdebutdate	15 November
testdebutyear	1989
testdebutagainst	Pakistan
testcap	187
lasttestdate	24 January
lasttestyear	2012
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	18 December
odidebutyear	1989
odidebutagainst	Pakistan
odicap	74
odishirt	10
lastodidate	16 March
lastodiyear	2012
lastodiagainst	Bangladesh
onet20i	true
t20idebutdate	1 December
t20idebutyear	2006
t20idebutagainst	South Africa
club1	Cricket Club of India
year1	1988
club2	Mumbai
year2	1988–present
club3	Yorkshire
year3	1992
club4	Mumbai Indians
year4	2008–present
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	188
runs1	15,470
bat avg1	55.44
100s/50s1	51/65
top score1	248*
deliveries1	4,174
wickets1	45
bowl avg1	54.33
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	3/10
catches/stumpings1	113/–
column2	ODI
matches2	462
runs2	18,374
bat avg2	44.81
100s/50s2	49/95
top score2	200*
deliveries2	8,032
wickets2	154
bowl avg2	44.32
fivefor2	2
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/32
catches/stumpings2	140/–
column3	FC
matches3	292
runs3	24,389
bat avg3	58.62
100s/50s3	78/111
top score3	248*
deliveries3	7,539
wickets3	70
bowl avg3	61.95
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	3/10
catches/stumpings3	181/–
column4	LA
matches4	541
runs4	21,684
bat avg4	45.84
100s/50s4	59/113
top score4	200*
deliveries4	10,220
wickets4	201
bowl avg4	42.11
fivefor4	2
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/32
catches/stumpings4	171/–
date	28 January
year	2012
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/35320.html Cricinfo }}

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket. In 2002, just 12 years into his career, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one-day-international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. Tendulkar was a part of the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning Indian team at the later part of his career, his first such win in six World Cup appearances for India.

Tendulkar is the first and the only cricketer to accomplish the feat of scoring a hundred centuries in international cricket which includes 49 ODI & 51 Test cricket centuries. He is also the first and the only player to score fifty centuries in the history of Test Cricket, and the first to score fifty centuries in all international cricket combined. On 17 October 2008, when he surpassed Brian Lara's record for the most runs scored in Test cricket, he also became the first batsman to score 12,000, 13,000, 14,000 and 15,000 runs in that form of the game, having also been the third batsman and first Indian to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket. He was also the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, and also the first player to cross every subsequent 1000-run mark that has been crossed in ODI cricket history. In the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Tendulkar surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the player to cross the 50-run mark the most number of times in Test cricket history, and also the second ever player to score 11 Test centuries against Australia, tying with Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years previously. Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket on 20 November 2009. On 24 February 2010, Tendulkar became the first man to score a double century (200*) in an ODI against South Africa. On 8 November 2011, Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 15,000 runs in Test Cricket. He also holds the world record for playing highest number of Test and ODI matches. On 16 March 2012, Tendulkar scored his 100th international century as the first male cricketer in both ODI and Test cricket.

Tendulkar has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour. Tendulkar became the first sportsperson and the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. He has received honorary doctorates from University of Mysore and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences He won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards.

Early years and personal life

Tendulkar was born into a Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin family, in Bombay (now Mumbai). His mother Rajni worked in the insurance industry, and his father Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist, named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar's elder brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other siblings: a brother Nitin, and sister Savita.

Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School), where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead.

When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-rupee coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions.

While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in Mumbai circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. His season in 1988 was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326* in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

At 14, Tendulkar was a ball boy for the India versus Zimbabwe game at the Wankhede Stadium during the 1987 World Cup. When he was 14, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads. "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," Tendulkar said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's world record of 34 Test centuries. On 24 May 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali, a paediatrician and daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta and British social worker Annabel Mehta. They have two children, Sara (born 12 October 1997), and Arjun (born 24 September 1999). Anjali is six years his senior.

Beliefs

Tendulkar is known to be a religious person, and an ardent devotee of Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi. He has visited Puttaparthi on several occasions to seek Baba's blessings. In 1997, Tendulkar captained the Indian National side, playing against a World Eleven team, in the Unity Cup which was held at the hill view stadium in Puttaparthi, in Baba's presence. After Sai Baba's death, Tendulkar broke into tears when he saw the body of Baba in Puttaparthi, and cancelled his birthday celebrations. The cricketer is also known to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at home and frequently visits temples during night when it's calm and quiet. The cricketer has also offered his prayers at several other Hindu temples across the country.

Philanthropy

Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. A request from Sachin on Twitter raised through Sachin's crusade against cancer for the Crusade against Cancer foundation. Sachin Tendulkar devoted all of nine hours to the 12-hour Coca-Cola-NDTV Support My School telethon on 18 September 2011 that helped raise 7 crore – 2 crore more than the target – for from the creation of basic facilities, particularly toilets for girl students, in 140 government schools across the country.

Early domestic career

At the age of 13, Tendulkar made his debut in club cricket for Cricket Club of India. On 11 December 1988, aged just 15 years and 232 days, Tendulkar scored 100 not out in his debut first-class match for Bombay against Gujarat, making him the youngest Indian to score a century on first-class debut. He followed this by scoring a century in his first Deodhar and Duleep Trophy. He was picked by the Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar after seeing him negotiate Kapil Dev in the nets, and finished the season as Bombay's highest run-scorer. He also made an unbeaten century in the Irani Trophy final, and was selected for the tour of Pakistan next year, after just one first class season.

His first double century was for Mumbai while playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998. He is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts.

In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire Tendulkar played 16 first-class matches for the county and scored 1070 runs at an average of 46.52.

International career

Early career

Raj Singh Dungarpur is credited for the selection of Tendulkar for the 1989 Indian tour of Pakistan. Tendulkar played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 aged just 16. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the final test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it. In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, Tendulkar made 53 runs off 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 27 runs off Abdul Qadir. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain Kris Srikkanth. In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International he played.

The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in, Tests including an innings of 88 in the Second Test. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two one-day games he played, and scored 36 in the other. On his next tour, to England in 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119* at Old Trafford. Wisden described his innings as "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote: Tendulkar further enhanced his development during the 1991–1992 tour of Australia, that included an unbeaten 148 in Sydney and a century on a fast, bouncing pitch at Perth. Merv Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."

Rise through the ranks

Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on 9 September 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.

Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 World Cup, scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar fell amid a batting collapse and the match referee, Clive Lloyd awarded Sri Lanka the match after the crowd began rioting and throwing litter onto the field.

After the World Cup, in the same year against Pakistan at Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a then record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds about whether he should bat. Tendulkar convinced Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in a mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time in an ODI. India went on to win that match.

This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. These were characterised by a premeditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia. The test match success was followed by two scintillating knocks in a tournament in Sharjah where he scored two consecutive centuries in a must-win game and then in finals against Australia tormenting Shane Warne once again. Following the series Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. He also had a role with the ball in that series, including a five wicket haul in an ODI. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 3 for 203 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.

Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took four Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

The inaugural Asian Test Championship took place in February and March 1999. Held just twice, the 1999 championship was contested by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Eden Gardens hosted the first match, in which Tendulkar was run out for nine after colliding with Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar. The crowd's reaction to the dismissal was to throw objects at Akhtar, and the players were taken off the field. The match resumed after Tendulkar and the president of the ICC appealed to the crowd, however further rioting meant that the match was finished in front of a crowd of just 200 people. Tendulkar scored his 19th Test century in the second Test and the match resulted in a draw with Sri Lanka. India did not progress to the final, which was won by Pakistan, and refused to participate the next time the championship was held to increasing political tensions between India and Pakistan.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.

Captaincy

Matches 25 73

Tendulkar's record as captain
	|	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	No result
Test	|	4	9	12	0	–
ODI	|	23	43	–	2	6

Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying ''"Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!"'', which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!".

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar, however, won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes. In 2007, Tendulkar was appointed vice-captain to captain Rahul Dravid. During the Indian team's 2007 tour of England, Dravid's desire to resign from the captaincy became known. The BCCI President Sharad Pawar personally offered the captaincy to Tendulkar. However, Tendulkar asked Pawar not to appoint him captain, instead recommending Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take over the reins. Pawar later revealed this conversation, crediting Tendulkar for first forwarding the name of Dhoni, who since achieved much success as captain.

Injuries and apparent decline

Sachin Tendulkar continued performing well in Test cricket in 2001 and 2002, with some pivotal performances with both bat and ball. Tendulkar took three wickets on the final day of the famous Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001. Tendulkar took the key wickets of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, centurions in the previous test.

In the 2002 series in the West Indies, Tendulkar started well, scoring 79 in the first test, and 117 in the first innings of the second. Then, in a hitherto unprecedented sequence, he scored 0, 0, 8 and 0 in the next four innings, getting out to technical "defects" and uncharacteristically poor strokes. He returned to form in the last test scoring 41 and 86. However, India lost the series. This might have been the beginning of the "decline" phase in his career which lasted till 2006.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia retained the trophy that they had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award.

He continued to score heavily in ODI cricket that year, with two hundreds in a tri series involving New Zealand and Australia.

The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003/04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with 241 not out in Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He followed up the innings with an unbeaten 60 in the second innings of the test. Prior to this test match, he had had an unusually horrible run of form, failing in all six innings in the preceding three tests. It was no aberration that 2003 was his worst year in test cricket, with an average of 17.25 and just one fifty.

Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at Multan in the following series. India declared before Tendulkar reached 200; had he done so it would have been the fourth time he passed the landmark in Tests. In meeting with the press that evening, Tendulkar stated that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise. Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste. After India won the match, the captain Rahul Dravid stated that the matter was spoken internally and put to rest.

Tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for most of the year, coming back only for the last two tests when Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series with a fast 55, though Australia took the series 2–1.

On 10 December 2005 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Tendulkar scored his record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans. After this, Tendulkar endured the longest spell of his career without a Test century: 17 innings elapsed before he scored 101 against Bangladesh in May 2007. Tendulkar scored his 39th ODI hundred on 6 February 2006 in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second one-day international against Pakistan on 11 February 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on 13 February 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory. On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd, the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. In July 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Tendulkar had overcome his injury problem following an operation and rehabilitation programme and was available for selection, and he was eventually selected for the next series.

Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on 14 September 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141 not out, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the D/L method.

During the preparation for the 2007 World Cup, Tendulkar was criticised by Greg Chappell on his attitude. As per the report, Chappell felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while the latter felt that he would be better off opening the innings, the role he had played for most of his career. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar's repeated failures were hurting the team's chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach has ever suggested his attitude towards cricket is incorrect. On 7 April 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media.

At the World Cup in the West Indies, Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid had a dismal campaign. Tendulkar, who was pushed to bat lower down the order had scores of 7 (Bangladesh), 57 not out (Bermuda) and 0 (Sri Lanka). As a result, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, brother of the then Indian coach Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his column for Mumbai's Mid Day newspaper.

During this period from about 2002 to 2006–7, Tendulkar's batting often seemed to be a shadow of its former self. He was inconsistent, and his big knocks mostly came in sedate, accumulative, uncharacteristic fashion. He seemed to have either cut out or lost the ability to play many shots, including the hook and pull and many other aerial strokes. He also developed a tendency to go without scoring much for long periods and become overtly defensive. While players such as Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis were at the peak of their careers, Sachin's seemed to be in terminal decline. There were several calls from him to retire. However, after the 2007 World Cup, his career had a second wind and his consistency and form returned.

Return to old form and consistency

In the subsequent series against Bangladesh, Tendulkar returned to his opening slot and was Man of the Series. He continued by scoring two consecutive scores of over 90 in the Future Cup against South Africa. He was the leading run scorer and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

On the second day of the Nottingham Test (28 July 2007) Tendulkar became the third cricketer to complete 11,000 Test runs. In the subsequent One day series against England, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer from India with an average of 53.42. In the ODI Series against Australia in October 2007 Tendulkar was the leading Indian run scorer with 278 runs.

Tendulkar was dismissed seven times in 2007 between 90 and 100, including three times at 99, leading some to suggest that he struggles to cope with nerves in this phase of his innings. Tendulkar has got out 23 times between 90 and 100 in his international career. On 8 November 2007 he got out on 99 against Pakistan in an ODI at Mohali to the bowling of Umar Gul. In the fourth ODI, he got out on 97 (off 102 balls with 16 fours) after dragging a delivery from Gul on to his stumps, falling short of another century in ODIs in 2007.

2007/08 tour of Australia

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007–08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with 493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Sachin scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the MCG in Melbourne, but couldn't prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the controversial New Years Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154 as India lost the Test. This was his third century at the SCG, earning him an average of 221.33 at the ground. In the third Test at the WACA cricket ground in Perth, Sachin was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well compiled 71, as India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA. In the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, involving in a crucial 126 run stand with V.V.S. Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the ''Player of the Match'' award.

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the first and only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on 5 February 2008 at the Gabba in Brisbane. He started the CB series well notching up scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32, but could not convert the starts into bigger scores. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament, but Tendulkar came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at the Bellerive Ovalin Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final, and 91 runs in the second final.

Home series against South Africa

South Africa toured in March and April 2008 for a three-Test series. Tendulkar scored a five-ball duck in his only innings of the series; he sustained a groin strain in the match and as a result was forced not only to miss the second and third Tests, but also the tri-series involving Bangladesh, the 2008 Asia Cup, and the first half of the inaugural season of the IPL.

Sri Lanka Series

Before the touring Sri Lanka for three Test in July 2008, Tendulkar needed just 177 runs to go past Brian Lara's record of Test 11,953 runs. However, he failed in all six innings, scoring a total of just 95 runs. India lost the series and his average of 15.83 was his worst in a Test series with at least three matches.

Return to form and breaking the record

In the following ODI series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar was sidelined due to injury. However, during the following Australia tour of India, he returned to fitness and form, scoring 13 and 49 in the first test before making 88 in the first innings of the second test, thus breaking the record for most number of Test runs held by Brian Lara. He also reached the 12,000 run mark when he was on 61. He made a fifty in the third test and 109 in the fourth, as India won the series 2–0 and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

ODI and Test Series against England

Tendulkar was again out due to injury from the first three ODIs of a 7-match ODI series at home against England, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the ODI series was called off due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the scoreline being 5–0 to India.

England returned for a 2-match test series in December 2008, and in the first test in Chennai, chasing 387 for victory, Tendulkar made 103 not out in a 163-run unbroken fifth wicket stand with Yuvraj Singh. This was his third century in a fourth match innings, and the first which resulted in a win. This was redemption for the Chennai Test of 1999 when chasing 271 against Pakistan, Sachin had made 136 with severe back pain and was out 17 runs short of the target, precipitating a collapse and a loss by 12 runs. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Tendulkar failed in both innings in the second test, India won the series 1–0.

2009–2010

In early 2009, India revisited Sri Lanka for five ODIs, as the Pakistan series had been cancelled due to the security situation in Pakistan and the attacks in Mumbai. Tendulkar failed to reach double figures in any inning, before becoming injured.

India's next assignment was an away series against New Zealand, consisting of three Tests and five ODIs. In the ODI series, Tendulkar made a 163 not out in the third match, an innings ended by stomach cramps that forced him to retire hurt. India made 392 and won easily and won the series 3–1. Tendulkar made 160 in the first test, his 42nd Test century, and India won. He made 49 and 64 in the second test and 62 and 9 in the third, in which India were prevented from winning by rain on the last day. India won the series 1–0.

Tendulkar rested himself for the ODI tour of West Indies, but was back for the Compaq Cup (Tri Series) between India, SL and New Zealand in early September 2009. He made 46 and 27 in the league matches before notching up 138 in the final, as India made 319 and won by 46 runs. This was Tendulkar's 6th century in ODI finals and his third consecutive score of over 50 in such finals. India has won all six times that Tendulkar has made a hundred in an ODI final.

Tendulkar played just one innings in the ICC Champions trophy in South Africa, scoring 8 against Pakistan as India lost. The next match against Australia was washed out and he was out with food poisoning in the third match against the West Indies, as India were eliminated.

Australia returned for a seven-match ODI series in India in October, and Tendulkar made 14, 4, 32 and 40 in the first four games. In the fifth match, with the series tied at 2–2, Australia amassed 350/4 in 50 overs. Tendulkar made his 45th ODI hundred, a 175 off 141 balls. Just when it seemed that he would steer India to the large victory target, he paddle-scooped debutant bowler Clint McKay straight to short fine leg, with India needing 19 from 18 balls with four wickets left. The Indian tail collapsed, and they lost by 3 runs, being all out for 347. During this match, Tendulkar also became the first player to reach 17,000 ODI runs, and achieved his personal best against Australia, as well as the third highest score in a defeat.

In the ODIs against Sri Lanka in 2009–10, Tendulkar scored 69, 43, 96 not out and 8, as India won 3–1.In the Test Series, he scored a 100 no out in the first test, which was drawn, and 40 in the second and 53 in the third test as India clinched innings victory in both tests. India won the series 2–0.

Sachin rested himself for the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh in 2010. In the Tests against Bangladesh, he made 105 not out and 16 in the first test, and 143 in the second. India won 2–0.

In the 2-Test Series against South Africa, Tendulkar made seven and 100 in the first test and 106 in the first innings of the second test. In the course of the second 100 (his 47th Test Hundred) he achieved several landmarks, in that he had scored four hundreds in his last four matches and that the hundred against South Africa in the first Test was the first at home against South Africa. The century was also his hundredth score over 50 in International Test cricket, moving him to 92 international hundreds (Tests and ODIs combined). In the second match of the subsequent ODI series, Tendulkar scored 200 not out to become the world's first person to score a double century in ODI cricket.

2011 World Cup and after

From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the 2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's lead run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the 2011 tournament. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy."

India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's tour of England. Throughout the tour there was much hype in the media about whether Tendulkar would reach his 100th century in international cricket (Test and ODIs combined). However his highest score in the Tests was 91; Tendulkar averaged 34.12 in the series as England won 4–0 as they deposed India as the No. 1 ranked Test side. The injury Tendulkar sustained to his right foot in 2001 flared up and as a result he was ruled out of the ODI series that followed. Tendulkar created another record on 8 November 2011 when he became the first cricketer to score 15,000 runs in Test cricket, during the opening Test match against the West Indies at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in New Delhi.

Ian Chappell is not happy with Sachin's performance after India's tour of Australia. He says that Sachin’s quest for his 100th hundred has proved to be a hurdle for the entire team and has hampered their performance on the Tour of Australia. Former India World Cup winning captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev has also voiced his opinion that Sachin should have retired from ODI’s after the World Cup. Former Australian fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, has said that Sachin has the right to decide when to quit although he adds that Tendulkar should not delay it for too long.

100th international century

Tendulkar scored his much awaited 100th international hundred on 16 March 2012, at Mirpur against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup. He became the first person in history to achieve this feat. Incidentally, it was Tendulkar's first ODI hundred against Bangladesh. He said "It's been a tough phase for me ... I was not thinking about the milestone, the media started all this, wherever I went, the restaurant, room service, everyone was talking about the 100th hundred. Nobody talked about my 99 hundreds. It became mentally tough for me because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds." Despite Tendulkar's century, India failed to win the match against Bangladesh, losing by 5 wickets.

Indian Premier League and Champions League

Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in 2008. As an icon player, he was signed for a sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.

In 2010 edition of Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians reached the final of the tournament. Tendulkar made 618 runs in 14 innings during the tournament, breaking Shaun Marsh's record of most runs in an IPL season. He was declared player of the tournament for his performance during the season. He also won Best Batsman and Best Captain awards at 2010 IPL Awards ceremony.

Sachin Tendulkar captained Mumbai Indians in 4 league matches of second edition of the league. He scored 68 in the first match and 48 against Guyana. But Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for semifinals after losing the initial two matches. Tendulkar scored 135 runs.

In the 2011 IPL, against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Tendulkar scored his maiden Twenty20 hundred. He scored 100 not out off 66 balls. In 51 matches in the IPL Tendulkar has scored 1,723 runs, making him the second-highest run-scorer in the competition's history.

Style of play

Tendulkar is cross-dominant: He bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time". His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through. Straight drive is his favourite shot. In 2008 Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that "it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".

Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar." Former Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left-arm pace. He was affected by a series of injuries since 2004. Since then Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently due to that fact that, firstly, no batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and, secondly, he is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. During the early part of his career he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at close to a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, remarked in 2007 that "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke".

Tendulkar has incorporated several modern and unorthodox strokes into his repertoire in recent times, including the paddle sweep, the scoop over short fine leg and the slash to third man over the slips' heads, over the last seven or eight years. This has enabled him to remain scoring consistently in spite of the physical toll of injuries and a lean period in the mid-2000s. By his own admission, he does not bat as aggressively as he did in the 90s and early 2000s, because his body has undergone changes and cannot sustain aggressive shotmaking over a long period. He is often praised for his ability to adapt to the needs of his body and yet keep scoring consistently.

While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he can bowl medium pace, leg spin, and off spin. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, as he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion. He has taken 44 test match wickets and is the tenth highest wicket taker for India in ODIs.

Controversies

Mike Denness incident

In India's 2001 tour of South Africa in the second test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth match referee Mike Denness fined four Indian players for excessive appealing as well as the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for not controlling his team. Tendulkar was given a suspended ban of one game by Mike Denness in light of alleged ball tampering. Television cameras picked up images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball. This can, under some conditions, amount to altering the condition of the ball. The match referee Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering charges and handed him a one Test match ban. The incident escalated to include allegations of racism, and led to Mike Denness being barred from entering the venue of the third test match. The ICC revoked the status of the match as a Test as the teams rejected the appointed referee. The charges against Tendulkar and Sehwag's ban for excessive appealing triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public.

Controversy over Ferrari import tax

In commemorating Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, automotive giant Ferrari invited Tendulkar to its paddock in Silverstone on the eve of the British Grand Prix on 23 July 2002, to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the F1 world champion Michael Schumacher. On 4 September 2002 India's then finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote to Tendulkar telling him that the government will waive customs duty imposed on the car as a measure to applaud his feat. However the rules at the time stated that the customs duty can be waived only when receiving an automobile as a prize and not as a gift. It is claimed that the proposals to change the law (Customs Act) was put forth in Financial Bill in February 2003 and amended was passed as a law in May 2003. Subsequently the Ferrari was allowed to be brought to India without payment of the customs duty ( or 120% on the car value of ). When the move to waive customs duty became public in July 2003, political and social activists protested the waiver and filed PIL in the Delhi High Court. With the controversy snowballing, Fiat India agreed to pay the import duty.

Fan following

Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries. One of the most popular sayings by his fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God". Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "... Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world." During the Australian tour of India in 1998 Matthew Hayden said "I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests."

At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night". In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence. Tendulkar has a presence in the popular social networking site twitter with the user name sachin_rt since May 2010.

Business interests

Tendulkar's immense popularity has led him to be an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a record sports management deal with Worldtel in 1995, the value of the deal being over five years. His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at over five years. In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX values at over three years.

Tendulkar has opened two restaurants: ''Tendulkar's'' (Colaba, Mumbai) and ''Sachin's'' (Mulund, Mumbai) and Bangalore. Sachin owns these restaurants in partnership with Sanjay Narang of Mars Restaurants.

In 2007, Tendulkar also announced a JV with the Future Group and Manipal Group to launch healthcare and sports fitness products under the brand name 'S Drive and Sach'. A series of comic books by Virgin Comics is also due to be published featuring him as a superhero.

Commercial endorsements

Sachin Tendulkar has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Boost (1990–present), Pepsi (1992–2009), Action Shoes (1995–2000), MRF (1999–2009), Adidas (2000–10), Britannia (2001–07), Fiat Palio (2001–03), TVS (2002–05), ESPN Star Sports (2002–present), Sunfeast (2007–13), Canon (2006–09), Airtel (2004–06), Reynolds (2007–present), G-Hanz (2005–07), Sanyo BPL (2007–present), Colgate-Palmolive, Philips, VISA, Castrol India (2011–12), Ujala Techno Bright and Coca-Cola (2011–13)

He has also been a spokesperson for National Egg Coordination Committee (2003–05), AIDS Awareness Campaign (2005) and Luminous India (2010–present)

Biographies

Sachin Tendulkar has been the subject of various books. The following is the listing of books focused on Tendulkar's career:

''Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman'' by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-0-14-302854-3 ''The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar'' by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-81-7476-530-7 ''Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography'' by Vaibhav Purandare. Publisher: Roli Books. ISBN 81-7436-360-2 ''Sachin Tendulkar – Masterful'' by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher: Rupa. ISBN 81-7167-806-8 ''If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God'' by Vijay Santhanam, Shyam Balasubramanian Publisher: HarperCollins India ISBN 978-81-7223-821-6

Career achievements

Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run scorer in one-day internationals with runs. With a current aggregate of Test runs, he surpassed Brian Lara's previous record tally of 11,953 runs as the highest run scorer in test matches in the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of India in Mohali. Tendulkar described "It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career" on the day he achieved the record. He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in both Test (51) and ODI (49) cricket. (). On 16 March 2012, Tenduklar scored his 100^th international hundred. It came against Bangladesh in the league matches of Asia Cup 2012. Throughout his career, he has made a strong impact on Indian cricket and was, at one time, the foundation of most of the team's victories. In recognition with his impact on sport in a cricket-loving country like India, Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was also chosen as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1997 and is ranked by the Wisden 100 as the second best test batsman and ODI batsman of all time.

Tendulkar has also consistently done well in Cricket World Cups. Tendulkar was the highest run scorer of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. After his century against England during group stages of 2011 Cricket World Cup, he became the player to hit most number of centuries in Cricket World Cups with six centuries and the first player to score 2000 runs in World Cup cricket. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times, and in 1998 he scored 1894 runs, easily the record for the highest number of runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Tendulkar is also one of the very few players who are still playing in international cricket from the 1980s. On 24 February 2010, Tendulkar broke the previous world record for highest individual innings in an ODI, and became the first male cricketer to score a double-century in one-day cricket. He made 200 runs and broke the previous record of 194 runs, jointly held by Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.

He has been Man of the Match 13 times in Test matches and Man of the Series four times, out of them twice in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The performances earned him respect from Australian cricket fans and players. Similarly he has been Man of the Match 60 times in One day International matches and Man of the Series 14 times.

Individual honours and appreciations

ICC Award-Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for cricketer of the year 2010

Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, 2008.

ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007

Rajiv Gandhi Awards – Sports: 2005

Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup

Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State's highest Civilian Award in 2001 Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, 1999 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997–98.

Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997

Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in sports, 1994. In October 2010 he was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Sport and the Peoples Choice Award at The Asian Awards in London On 28 January 2011, he won the 'Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year' award. 'BCCI Cricketer of the Year' award on 31 May 2011 On 3 September 2010 he was made a Honorary Group captain by the Indian Air Force

See also

List of International cricket centuries by Sachin Tendulkar

Indian national cricket captains

List of One-day International records

References

Further reading

External links

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Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Indian cricket captains Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:West Zone cricketers Category:Mumbai cricketers Category:Yorkshire cricketers Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Recipients of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Category:Marathi people Category:People from Mumbai Category:Indian Hindus Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Mumbai (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Indian Air Force officers Category:Article Feedback Blacklist Category:International Cricket Council Cricketer of the Year

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Coordinates	23°32′28″N46°22′08″N
playername	Sourav Ganguly
alt	Clean-shaven man wearing glasses stares directly at the camera. He is wearing a black suit and a gold tie. The man's right arm is facing the camera. The arm has a small picture of a helmet engulfed with fire.
country	India
fullname	Sourav Chandidas Ganguly
nickname	The Prince of Calcutta, The Maharaja, The God of the Off Side, Dada, The Warrior Prince
living	true
dayofbirth	8
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1972
placeofbirth	Behala, Calcutta, West Bengal
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	11
batting	Left-handed
bowling	Right arm medium
role	Batsman
family	Snehasish Ganguly (brother), Dona Ganguly (Wife)
international	true
testdebutdate	20 June
testdebutyear	1996
testdebutagainst	England
testcap	207
lasttestdate	6 November
lasttestyear	2008
lasttestagainst	Australia
odidebutdate	11 January
odidebutyear	1992
odidebutagainst	West Indies
odicap	84
lastodidate	15 November
lastodiyear	2007
lastodiagainst	Pakistan
club1	Bengal
year1	1990–2010
club2	Lancashire
year2	2000
club3	Glamorgan
year3	2005
club4	Northamptonshire
year4	2006
club5	Kolkata Knight Riders
year5	2008–10
club6	Pune Warriors India
year6	2011
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	113
runs1	7,212
bat avg1	42.17
100s/50s1	16/35
top score1	239
deliveries1	3,117
wickets1	32
bowl avg1	52.53
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	3/28
catches/stumpings1	71/–
column2	ODI
matches2	311
runs2	11,363
bat avg2	41.02
100s/50s2	22/72
top score2	183
deliveries2	4,561
wickets2	100
bowl avg2	38.49
fivefor2	2
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/16
catches/stumpings2	100/–
column3	FC
matches3	242
runs3	14,933
bat avg3	43.92
100s/50s3	31/85
top score3	239
deliveries3	10,968
wickets3	164
bowl avg3	36.82
fivefor3	4
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	6/46
catches/stumpings3	166/–
column4	LA
matches4	426
runs4	15,278
bat avg4	41.51
100s/50s4	31/94
top score4	183
deliveries4	7,949
wickets4	168
bowl avg4	38.41
fivefor4	2
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/16
catches/stumpings4	129/–
date	28 February
year	2009
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/2/2023/2023.html CricketArchive }}

Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; ; born 8 July 1972) is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his career by playing in state and school teams. Currently, he is the 5th highest run scorer in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and was the 5th person in history to cross the 10,000 run landmark. He is only the 2nd Indian to cross that mark in ODIs, after Sachin Tendulkar. Wisden ranked him the sixth greatest one day international batsman of all time, next to Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan.

After a series of playing in different Indian domestic tournaments such as the Ranji and Duleep trophies, Ganguly got his big-break while playing for India on their tour of England. He scored 131 runs and cemented his place in the Indian team. Ganguly's place in the team was assured after successful performances in series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia, winning the Man of the Match awards. In the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he was involved in a partnership of 318 runs with Rahul Dravid, which remains the highest overall partnership score in the World Cup tournament history.

Due to the match-fixing scandals in 2000 by other players of the team, and for his poor health, Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar resigned his position, and Ganguly was made the captain of the Indian cricket team. He was soon the subject of media criticism after an unsuccessful stint for county side Durham and for taking off his shirt in the final of the 2002 Natwest Trophy. He led India into the 2003 World Cup final, where they were defeated by Australia. Due to a decrease in individual performance, he was dropped from the team in the following year. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest civilian awards. He returned to the National team in 2006, and made successful batting displays. Around this time, he became involved in a dispute with Indian team coach Greg Chappell over several misunderstandings. Ganguly was again dropped from the team, however he was selected to play in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Ganguly joined the Kolkata Knight Riders team as captain for the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in 2008. The same year, after a home Test series against Australia, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He continued to play for the Bengal team and was appointed the chairman of the Cricket Association of Bengal's Cricket Development Committee. The left-handed Ganguly was a prolific One Day International (ODI) batsman, with over 11,000 ODI runs to his credit. He is one of the most successful Indian Test captains to date, winning 21 out of 49 test matches. An aggressive captain, Ganguly is credited with having nurtured the careers of many young players who played under him, and transforming the Indian team into an aggressive fighting unit.

Biography

1972–89: Early life and introduction to cricket

Sourav Ganguly was born on 8 July 1972 in Calcutta, and is the youngest son of Chandidas and Nirupa Ganguly. Chandidas ran a flourishing print business and was one of the richest men in the city. Ganguly had a luxurious childhood and was nicknamed the 'Maharaja', meaning the 'Great King'. Since the favourite sport for the people of Calcutta was the game of football, Ganguly was initially attracted to the game. However, academics came in-between his love for sports and Nirupa was not very supportive of Ganguly taking up cricket or any other sport as a career. By then, his elder brother Snehasish was already an established cricketer for the Bengal cricket team. He supported Ganguly's dream to be a cricketer and asked their father to get Ganguly enrolled in a cricket coaching camp during his summer holidays. Ganguly was studying in tenth grade at that time.

Despite being right-handed, Ganguly learnt to bat left-handed so he could use his brother's sporting equipment. After he showed some promise as a batsman, he was enrolled in a cricket academy. An indoor multi-gym and concrete wicket was built at their home, so he and Snehasish could practice the game. They used to watch a number of old cricket match videos, especially the games played by David Gower, whom Ganguly admired. After he scored a century against the Orissa Under–15 side, he was made captain of St Xavier's School's cricket team, where several of his teammates complained against what they perceived to be his arrogance. While touring with a junior team, Ganguly refused his turn as the twelfth man, as he reportedly felt that the duties involved, which included organising equipment and drinks for the players, and delivering messages, were beneath his social status. Ganguly purportedly refused to do such tasks as he considered it beneath his social status to assist his teammates in such a way. However, his playmanship gave him a chance to make his first-class cricket debut for Bengal in 1989, the same year that his brother was dropped from the team.

1990–96: Career beginning and debut success

Following a prolific Ranji season in 1990–91, Ganguly scored three runs in his One Day International (ODI) debut for India against the West Indies in 1992. He was dropped immediately since he was perceived to be "arrogant" and his attitude towards the game was openly questioned. It was rumored that Ganguly refused to carry drinks for his teammates, commenting that it was not his job to do so, later denied by him. Consequently, he was removed from the team. He toiled away in domestic cricket, scoring heavily in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 Ranji seasons. Following an innings of 171 in the 1995–96 Duleep Trophy, he was recalled to the National team for a tour of England in 1996, in the middle of intense media scrutiny. He played in a single ODI, but was omitted from the team for the first Test. However, after teammate Navjot Singh Sidhu left the touring, citing ill-treatment by then captain Mohammad Azharuddin, Ganguly made his Test debut against England in the Second Test of a three-match series at Lord's Cricket Ground alongside Rahul Dravid. England had won the First Test of the three-match series; however, Ganguly scored a century, becoming only the third cricketer to achieve such a feat on debut at Lord's, after Harry Graham and John Hampshire. Andrew Strauss and Matt Prior have since accomplished this feat, but Ganguly's 131 still remains the highest by any batsman on his debut at the ground. India was not required to bat in the second innings due to the match ending in a draw. In the next Test match at Trent Bridge he made 136, thus becoming only the third batsman to make a century in each of his first two innings (after Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharran). He shared a 255 run stand with Sachin Tendulkar, which became at that time the highest partnership for India against any country for any wicket outside India. The Test again ended in a draw, handing England a 1–0 series victory; Ganguly scored 48 in the second innings.

1997–99: Marriage, Opening in ODIs and World Cup '99

Weeks after his successful tour of England, Ganguly eloped with childhood sweetheart Dona Roy. The bride and groom's family were sworn enemies at that point and this news caused an uproar between them. However, both families reconciled and a formal wedding was held in February 1997. Same year, Ganguly scored his maiden ODI century by hitting 113, opposed to Sri Lanka's team total of 238. Later that year, he won four consecutive man of the match awards, in the Sahara Cup with Pakistan; the second of these was won after he took five wickets for 16 runs off 10 overs, his best bowling in an ODI. After a barren run in Test cricket his form returned at the end of the year with three centuries in four Tests all against Sri Lanka two of these involved stands with Sachin Tendulkar of over 250.

During the final of the Independence Cup at Dhaka in January 1998, India successfully chased down 315 off 48 overs, and Ganguly won the Man of the Match award. In March 1998 he was part of the Indian team that defeated Australia; in Kolkata, he took three wickets having opened the bowling with his medium pace.

Ganguly was part of the Indian team that competed in the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England. During the match against Sri Lanka at Taunton, India chose to bat. After Sadagoppan Ramesh was bowled, Ganguly scored 183 from 158 balls, and hit 17 fours and seven sixes. It became the second highest score in World Cup history and the highest by an Indian in the tournament. His partnership of 318 with Rahul Dravid is the highest overall score in a World Cup and is the second highest in all ODI cricket. In 1999–00, India lost Test series to both Australia and South Africa that involved a combined total of five Tests. Ganguly struggled scoring 224 runs at 22.40; however his ODI form was impressive, with five centuries over the season taking him to the top of the PwC One Day Ratings for batsmen. Around the same time, allegations came that Ganguly was romantically involved with South Indian actress Nagma, something he denied.

2000–05: Ascension to captaincy and accolades

In 2000, after the match fixing scandal by some of the players of the team, Ganguly was named the Captain of the Indian cricket team. The decision was spurred due to Tendulkar stepping down from the position for his health, and Ganguly being the vice-captain at that time. He began well as a captain, leading India to a series win over South Africa in the five-match one day series and led the Indian team to the finals of the 2000 ICC KnockOut Trophy. He scored two centuries, including one in the final; however, New Zealand still won by four wickets. The same year, Ganguly tried his hand at County cricket career in England but was not a successful. In "The Wisden Cricketer", reviewers Steve Pittard and John Stern called him as "The imperious Indian—dubbed 'Lord Snooty'". They commented:

"At the crease it was sometimes uncertain whether his partner was a batsman or a batman being dispatched to take his discarded sweater to the pavilion or carry his kit bag. But mutiny was afoot among the lower orders. In one match Ganguly, after reaching his fifty, raised his bat to the home balcony, only to find it deserted. He did not inspire at Glamorgan or Northamptonshire either. At the latter in 2006 he averaged 4.80 from his four first-class appearances."

His Lancashire teammate Andrew Flintoff thought him to be aloof and compared his attitude to that of Prince Charles. In Australia's three Test and five match ODI tour of India in early 2001, Ganguly caused controversy by arriving late for the toss on four occasions, something that agitated opposing captain Steve Waugh. In the Fourth ODI, he caused further controversy by failing to wear his playing attire to the toss, something considered unusual in cricket circles. However, India won the Test series 2–1, ending Australia's run of 16 consecutive Test match victories in the Second Test. The match saw India looking set for defeat after conceding a first innings lead of 274. Waugh chose to enforce the follow-on and V. V. S. Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) batted for the entire fourth day's play to set Australia a target of 384 on a dusty, spinning wicket. The Australians were unable to survive and became only the third team to lose a Test after enforcing the follow-on. In November 2001, Ganguly's wife Dona gave birth to their daughter Sana Ganguly. At the Border-Gavaskar Trophy of 2001, During the final match of the 2002 Natwest Trophy held in Lords after a stunning performance by team mates Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, Ganguly took off his shirt in public and brandished it in the air to celebrate India's winning of the match. He was later strongly condemned for tarnishing the "gentleman's game" image of cricket and disrespecting Lords protocol. Ganguly said that he was only mimicking an act performed by the British all-rounder Andrew Flintoff during a tour of India. In 2003, India reached the World Cup Final for the first time since 1983, where they lost to the Australians. Ganguly had a successful tournament personally, scoring 465 runs at an average of 58.12, including three centuries.

By 2004, he had achieved significant success as captain and was deemed as India's most successful cricket captain by sections of the media. However, his individual performance deteriorated during his captaincy reign, especially after the World Cup, the tour of Australia in 2003 and the Pakistan series in 2004. In 2004, Australia won a Test series in India for the first time since 1969. It was speculated that Ganguly was in disagreement with the head of cricket in Nagpur over the type of pitch to be used for the Third Test. The groundsmen went against Ganguly, leaving a large amount of grass on the pitch. Some experts indicated that the reason for this was for "spite or revenge" against the Indian captain. When Australia's stand-in-captain, Adam Gilchrist, went to the toss, he noticed Rahul Dravid was waiting instead of Ganguly, leaving him to ask Dravid where Ganguly was. Dravid could not give a definitive answer, saying: "Oh, who knows?"

Following indifferent form in 2004 and poor form in 2005, he was dropped from the team in October 2005. Having been nominated and rejected in 2000, when the game suffered a tarnished reputation due to match fixing scadals, the captaincy was passed to Dravid, his former deputy. Ganguly decided against retiring and attempted to make a comeback to the team. Ganguly was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004, one of India's highest awards. He was presented with the award on June 30, 2004, by then President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

2006–07: Comeback and rift with Greg Chappell

In September 2005, Greg Chappell became the coach for the India tour of Zimbabwe. Ganguly's dispute with him resulted in many headlines. Chappell had emailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India, stating that Ganguly was "physically and mentally" unfit to lead India and that his "divide and rule" behaviour was damaging the team. This email was leaked to the media and resulted in huge backlash from Ganguly's fans. Ganguly had enlisted the support from the Indian media and eventually the board had to intervene and order a truce between the pair. BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra issued a statement that,

"In view of the decision that cricket is to go forward, both the coach and the captain have been asked to work out a mutual and professional working relationship. For this, performance will be the criteria, applicable to captain, coach and players. [...] Of course the captain controls the game, the coach does his own job. Mutual trust is important. Henceforth no player/captain/coach will write or have any interaction with the media. Going to the media will lead to disciplinary action."

Ganguly, Chappell and the Indian team manager for the Zimbabwe tour, Amitabh Choudhary, were asked to appear before the BCCI committee, where it was reported that assurance of working together was given by them. Consequently, due to his poor form and differences with the coach, Ganguly was dropped as the captain of the team, with Dravid taking his place. Chandresh Narayan, chief correspondent for ''The Times of India'', commented that "The row with Greg Chappell just added to the mystery, but he was going through a really bad patch then, his only score [of note] was a hundred against Zimbabwe and that didn't count for much." Ten months later, during India's tour to South Africa, Ganguly was recalled after his middle order replacements Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif suffered poor form.

Following India's poor batting display in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy and the ODI series in South Africa, in which they were whitewashed 4-0, Ganguly made his comeback to the Test team. Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble had earlier been selected for the one-day squad, despite their recent poor performances. Many saw this as an indictment of coach Greg Chappell's youth-first policy. Coming in at 37/4, Ganguly scored 83 in a tour match against the rest of South Africa, modifying his original batting style and taking a middle-stump guard, resulting in India winning the match. During his first Test innings since his comeback, against South Africa in Johannesburg his score of 51 helped India to victory, marking the first Test match win for the team in South Africa. Though India lost the series, Ganguly accumulated the most runs on the scoring chart. After his successful Test comeback he was recalled for the ODI team, as India played host to West Indies and Sri Lanka in back to back ODI tournaments. In his first ODI innings in almost two years, he scored a matchwinning 98. He performed well in both series, averaging almost 70 and won the Man of the Series Award against Sri Lanka.

Ganguly was alloted a place in the official team for the 2007 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading scorer for India in their first round defeat against Bangladesh. After India were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, there were reports of a rift between certain members of the Indian team and Chappell. Ganguly was alleged to have ignored instructions from the team management to score quickly. After Tendulkar issued a statement saying that what hurt the team most was that "the coach has questioned our attitude", Chappell decided not to renew his contract with the Indian team and left his post as coach, citing "family and personal reasons". On 12 December 2007, Ganguly scored his maiden double century of his career while playing against Pakistan. He scored 239 runs in the first innings of the third and final Test match of the series. He was involved in a 300  run partnership for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh. Ganguly remained prolific in both Test and ODI cricket in the year 2007. He scored 1106 Test runs at an average of 61.44 (with three centuries and four fifties) in 2007 to become the second highest run-scorer in Test matches of that year after Jacques Kallis. He was also the fifth highest run-scorer in 2007 in ODIs, where he scored 1240 runs at an average of 44.28.

2008–present: International retirement and the Indian Premier League

In February 2008, Ganguly joined as the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team, owned by Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, as part of the Indian Premier League (IPL). On 18 April 2008, Ganguly led the KKR, in the IPL Twenty20 cricket match. They had a 140 run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers captained by Rahul Dravid and owned by Vijay Mallya. Ganguly opened the innings with Brendan McCullum and scored 10 runs while McCullum remained unbeaten, scoring 158 runs in 73 balls. On 1 May, in a game between the Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals, Ganguly made his second T20 half century, scoring 51 runs off of 39 balls at a strike rate of 130.76. In his innings, Ganguly hit four 4s and two sixes, topping the scorers list for the Knight Riders.

On 7 July 2008, media reported that Ganguly was being projected as a candidate for the post of President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) against his former mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya. Reports also suggested that he could run for the post of BCCI President in 2014 as East Zone's representative. Ganguly himself did not deny the reports and did not rule out any such move. The same year in October, Ganguly announced that the Test series against Australia starting in October 2008 would be his last and stated "[t]o be honest, I didn't expect to be picked for this series. Before coming here, [at the conference] I spoke to my team-mates and hopefully I will go out with a winning knock." Ganguly played in every game of the four-Test series and amassed 324 runs at an average of 54.00. While playing the second Test match of the series in Mohali, Ganguly scored his final test century. In the Fourth and final Test, with India needing one wicket to secure a victory, the Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, invited Ganguly to lead the side in the field for the final time. India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning the series 2–0.

In May 2009, Ganguly was removed from the captaincy of the KKR for the 2009 season of the IPL, and was replaced by McCullum. The decision was questioned by media and other players of the team, when KKR finished at the bottom of the ranking table with three wins and ten losses. After that, television channel Zee Bangla appointed him as the host of the reality quiz show titled ''Dadagiri Unlimited''. It presented participants from the 19 districts of West Bengal, who had to answer questions posed by Ganguly. By August, he was appointed the chairman of CAB's Cricket Development Committee. The job of the committee is to receive a report from the selectors at the end of every cricket season, assess the accountability of the selectors and make necessary recommendations. He played for the Ranji cup in the Bengal team in October 2009. Ganguly scored 110 in the match against Delhi and was involved in a partnership of 222 runs with Wriddhiman Saha.

In the third season of the IPL, Ganguly was once again given the captaincy of KKR, after the team ended at the bottom in the second season. The coach John Buchanan was replaced by Dav Whatmore. In 40 matches and 38 innings for KKR Ganguly scored 1,031 runs and took eight wickets. In the fourth season of the IPL he was signed by the Pune Warriors India, after being unsold in initial bidding process and he made 50 runs of four matches and three innings.

Playing style and influences

Ganguly commented that David Gower was the first cricketer to attract him to the game. He loved Gower's style and used to watch old videos of him playing. Other cricketers who had an influence on him are: David Boon, Mohinder Amarnath, Kapil Dev and Allan Border. Ganguly is a left-handed batsman whose runs came primarily from the off-side. Debashish Dutta, author of ''Sourav Ganguly, the maharaja of cricket'', commented that throughout his career, "Ganguly played off-side shots such as the square cut, square drive and cover drive with complete command." Rahul Dravid has called Ganguly "...next to God on the off-side." He used to hit powerful shots to the off-side on front and back foot with equal ease. However, early in his career he was not comfortable with the hook and pull, often giving his wicket away with mistiming such shots. He was also criticized for having difficulty in handling short bouncers, notoriously exploited by the Australians and South Africans. However, after his comeback in 2007, he worked upon these weaknesses to a large extent.

Amrita Daityari, author of ''Sourav Ganguly: the fire within'', noted that in ODIs, where Ganguly usually opened the innings, he used to try to take the advantage of fielding restrictions by advancing down the pitch and hitting pace bowlers over extra cover and mid-off. She commented: "Ganguly was notorious for attacking left-arm spin bowlers. Due to excellent eye–hand coordination, he was noted for picking the length of the ball early, coming down the pitch and hitting the ball aerially over mid-on or midwicket, often for a six. However, he did have a weakness in running between the wickets and judging quick singles." There were many instances where Ganguly's batting partner was run out due to Ganguly's calling for a run, and then sending him back while halfway down the pitch. A situation like this happened in an ODI against Australia where he took a single when on 99, but he coasted and did not ground his bat. Although the bat was past the crease, it was in the air and he was consequently run out. Ganguly said, "I love to watch myself hit a cover drive, to watch myself hit a hundred." Ganguly's relationship with former Indian coach John Wright has been well documented in contemporary media, with them denoting the relationship as a "symbiotic process". They credited Wright and Ganguly with bringing out international class performers, through academic, coaching and scientific fitness regimens. According to Dubey, Ganguly and Wright, along with other members of the team like Tendulkar and Dravid, were the first to understand the importance of a foreign coach for the Indian cricket team and was convinced that the domestic coach has outlived its utility. Ganguly's aggressive style and Wright's importance on fitness ushered in the development of a better cricket team for India.

Ganguly is a right-arm medium pace bowler. He can swing and seam the ball both ways and often chips in with useful wickets to break partnerships. Vinod Tiwari, author of the biography ''Sourav Ganguly'' praised him saying "[d]espite not being very athletic as a fielder, Ganguly has taken 100 catches in one-day Internationals. That's something to be proud of!" However he criticized Ganguly's ground fielding, especially his slowness in intercepting the ball to prevent runs and his tendency to get injured during catching the ball.

Legacy

Author Pradeep Mandhani commented that in his tenure between 2000 and 2005, Ganguly became India's most successful Test captain. He led his team to victory on 21 occasions — seven times more than Mohammad Azharuddin with the second most wins—and led them for a record 49 matches—twice more than both Azharuddin and Sunil Gavaskar. Compared to his batting average of 45.47 when not captain, Ganguly's Test batting average as captain was a lower 37.66.

Statistics about Ganguly show that he was the seventh Indian cricketer to have played 100 Test matches, the 4th highest overall run scorer for India in Tests, and the fourth Indian to have played in more than 300 ODIs. In terms of overall runs scored in ODIs, Ganguly is the second among Indians after Sachin Tendulkar (who has the most ODI runs) and the fifth overall. He has scored 16 centuries in Test matches and 22 in ODIs. He is also one of only eight batsmen to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Along with Tendulkar, Ganguly has formed the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48.98, and hold the world record for creating most number of 50-run partnership in the first wicket (44 fifties). Ganguly became the fourth player to cross 11,000 ODI runs, and was the fastest player to do so in ODI cricket, after Tendulkar. As of 2006, he is the only Indian captain to win a Test series in Pakistan (although two of the three Tests of that series was led by Rahul Dravid). He is also one of the three players in the world to achieve amazing treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODI cricket history, the others being Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Author Mihir Bose, in his book, ''The magic of Indian cricket: cricket and society in India''. commented that "The cricket world had gotten too used to the stereotype of the meek Indian cricketer. All that has changed under Ganguly, perhaps for the better." He credits Ganguly for not being shy of taking on responsibility. "He showed that he can be a leader of a team, which has greats like Sachin and Dravid in the side, without any problems. Under Ganguly's leadership, India started winning matches and tournaments, previously lacking from the team considerably." Within a few years of his captaincy, Ganguly rewrote the rules of being a captain of a cricket team. Unlike some of his predecessors, Ganguly was considered impartial, non-parochial, and forever pushed his players to perform better. Off the field, his interactions with the media, his fans, and detractors were uncompromisingly honest and earned him the respect of cricket followers everywhere. However, along with this respect came the criticisms. Ganguly was condemned as a hot-tempered man who refused to listen to other's opinions and abided by his own rules and regulations. Matthew Engel, ICC sport critic, noted that this "turning deaf" to other's opinions would one day harm Ganguly and that it was sheer luck that he existed on the sporting world.

Ganguly believed that his legacy as a captain was that he was able to build a proper Indian team. He added,

"[We] were able to change the face of Indian cricket. That's what I'm proud of, because I think we made a huge difference. People used to think that we would simply roll over when playing out of India, but we changed the image. [...] [The team wouldn't take any crap from any opposition] Absolutely, and that came from self-belief that, that we had the ability to do well outside India."

Bose commented that Ganguly's greatest legacy lay in his influence on the younger and budding generation of cricketers. Ganguly felt that every young player should play two years of domestic cricket before being selected for international assignments. He also said that every newcomer should be given at least five games to prove himself. Later he explained that being at the receiving end of an unfair decision against him, that threatened to ruin his international cricket career, it enabled him to understand the insecurities of other newcomers in the team better than his predecessors. Ganguly had always backed the influence and contribution of younger players of the team.

Despite his contributions, his captaincy and coaching methods came under immense scrutiny from the press as well as other scholars. Engel commented that "He seems like aloof to the problems that his mal-decisions are creating. I don't particularly believe that Ganguly has an 'effing knowledge how to lead his team and tries to counter-pose it with instigating limitless, confrontational behaviours within the younger members of it. [One day] the time will come when such shock tactics will cease to work." An article on ''Cricinfo Magazine'' pointed out his reckless behaviour. The reporter Rahul Bhattacharya said, "Generally Ganguly fostered angry or reckless young men. To him 'good behaviour', a broad term espoused by the present team management, belonged in school and probably not even there. He himself had been summoned to the match referee no less than 12 times in the last decade. His approach was bound to precipitate what could possibly be termed a cultural conflict in the world of modern sport. For Ganguly, like for Arjuna Ranatunga, competitiveness involved brinksmanship rather than training. As far as they were concerned Australia were not to be aspired to. They were simply to be toppled. England were not to be appeased. Victory lay precisely in their disapproval. In other words, Ganguly and Ranatunga wanted to do things their way."

See also

List of international cricket centuries by Sourav Ganguly

Notes

References

External links

Cumulative Career Averages

Fastest To Reach Multiples

Sourav Ganguly News Articles

Batting series' averages

Category:1972 births Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Bengali cricketers Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:East Zone cricketers Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Indian Test captains Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Category:Kolkata cricketers Category:Indian Premier League cricketers Category:Northamptonshire cricketers Category:Living people Category:People from Kolkata Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Alumni of St. Xavier's College, Calcutta Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:MCC cricketers

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