16 years of career, more than 18 thousand runs, Ganguly got a surprise gift on his 54th birthday, included in ICC Hall Half Fame.

New Delhi. Sourav Ganguly, one of the most successful and aggressive captains in the history of Indian cricket, has been included in the ICC Hall of Fame. He was given a place in this prestigious club, after which he became the 12th cricketer of India to receive this honour. 54-year-old Ganguly had successfully led Team India in both Test and ODI formats between 2000 and 2005.

After this new achievement, ‘Dada’ shared an emotional post on the social media platform X. Expressing his gratitude to ICC Chairman Jay Shah, he wrote, ‘Many thanks to ICC and Chairman Jay Shah for inducting me into the Hall of Fame. This is a great honor for me. It is truly amazing to be among the select few Indians to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and stand alongside some of the greatest names in the game. Although, in his tweet he mentioned 10 Indian cricketers, but in reality he is the 12th player to make it to this list.

How was Dada’s international career?
Sourav Ganguly’s international cricket career lasted from 1992 to 2008 i.e. 16 years long. He created a stir on the international stage by scoring a brilliant century in his debut Test match against England at the historic ground of Lord’s in 1996. This great left-handed batsman never looked back after this. Ganguly established many big records during his career. Ganguly played 113 test matches for India. During this period, he scored 7,212 runs at an average of 42.17 and took 32 wickets while also contributing with the ball. Dada’s record in ODI was even more fatal. He scored 11,363 runs in 311 ODI matches. He also has 100 wickets in his name in ODI, which proves him to be an excellent all-rounder.

Changing picture of Indian cricket
Ganguly is remembered not only for his batting but also for his fearless captaincy. When Indian cricket was struggling with the dark shadow of match fixing in the year 2000, Ganguly took command of the team. He taught Indian players to win in foreign countries and fight eye to eye. It was during his captaincy period when India won the NatWest Series at Lord’s in 2002 and Dada gave a befitting reply to the British by waving the T-shirt in the historic balcony. Apart from this, under his leadership the Indian team reached the final of the 2003 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup, where the team had to be content with becoming the runner-up.

Indian stars included in ICC Hall of Fame
Before Sourav Ganguly, 11 greats of India have become a part of this special club. In the year 2009, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar were awarded this honor for the first time, while just before Ganguly, in the year 2025, former captain MS Dhoni got a place in this list.

The magic continues even after cricket
Even after scoring runs on the field and taking the team to new heights, Ganguly did not stay away from cricket. He also gave excellent administrative services as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2019 to 2022. He is associated with the IPL franchise Delhi Capitals and along with this, he is also playing the role of head coach of Pretoria Capitals in South Africa’s T20 League (SA20). Ganguly’s inclusion in the ICC Hall of Fame is a recognition of his unwavering contribution, which has taken Indian cricket to where it is today.