Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame | Cricket news

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