Sourav Ganguly turns 43: MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and other cricketers who made international debut under Dada’s captaincy

Sourav Ganguly had many memorable moments as India captain.

Sourav Ganguly was widely respected for his captaincy skills © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly was one of India’s most successful captains. ‘The Prince of Calcutta’, as he was famously referred to as by former England captain Geoffrey Boycott, had many memorable moments as a captain. Many youngsters got a chance to play under his leadership for the first time and made a big names as years rolled on. Pramod Ananth lists some cricketers, who made their debuts under Ganguly and went on to become excellent servants for their nation.

MS Dhoni: India’s most successful captain, having won three major trophies — ICC World T20 (2007), ICC Cricket World Cup (2011) and ICC Champions Trophy (2013), Dhoni has forever etched his name in history. But the Ranchi-born wicketkeeper-batsman made his international debut under Ganguly in an One-Day International (ODI) against Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2004. Dhoni is considered one of the greatest ODI players. Though making his international debut under Ganguly, he made his Test debut less than a year later under Rahul Dravid. He never played a Test under Ganguly. Quiz: How well do you know Sourav Ganguly?

MS Dhoni under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy:

Format	M	I	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
ODIs	12	12	418	148	46.44	1	2

Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj was part of the ICC Under-19 World Cup winning team in 2000, where the team was led by Mohammad Kaif. He was named Player of the Tournament. He made his senior debut in the same year against Kenya in the ICC knockout trophy but did not bat, but he made an impact when he scored 84 against Australia four days later, his first innings in international cricket. India went on to win the game by 20 runs but lost in the final against New Zealand. Yuvraj went on to become one of the most explosive batsmen in India’s ODI history has ever produced. He scored two fifties in World Cup 2003, and was named Player of the Tournament in World Cup 2011 for his all-round performance. READ: Sourav Ganguly’s five impactful knocks

Yuvraj Singh under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy:

Format	Span	M	I	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Tests	2004-2005	5	7	131	47	21.83	0	0
ODIs	2000-2005	110	98	2640	139	30.69	3	16

Zaheer Khan: Zaheer made his debut in the same match as Yuvraj, snaring three wickets against Kenya. A Test debut followed a month later against Bangladesh at Dhaka, Bangladesh’s first ever Test. Zaheer picked up three wickets in the match as India cruised to a nine-wicket win. He went on to become India’s spearhead over the coming years, and despite a temporary slump, rejuvenated career following his 2006 stint with Worcestershire. He was the highest wicket-taker for India in all three World Cups he played. READ: Top five bowling spells by Sourav Ganguly

Zaheer Khan under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy:

Format	Span	M	I	W	BBI	BBM
Tests	2000-2005	36	66	102	5/29	7/138
ODI	2000-2005	88	87	130	4/19	–

Gautam Gambhir: Gambhir played just four ODIs under Ganguly. He did not have an ideal start to his career, but later went on to play under the leaderships of Dravid and Dhoni and became an integral part of the Indian team. He played a crucial role in India winning ICC World T20 2007, top-scoring for India in the final. He went on to play nine Tests under Ganguly and scored a century during India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2004.

Gautam Gambhir under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy:

Format	M	I	R	HS	Ave	100s	50s
Tests	9	14	626	139	52.16	1	3
ODI	4	4	42	18	10.5	0	0

Irfan Pathan: One of Ganguly’s best finds, Irfan surprised everyone when he was picked in India’s tour of Australia in 2003 at just 19. He was drafted in at the backdrop of an incredible 9 for 16 in Asia Cup Under-19s. His best moment came when he took a hat-trick against Pakistan at Lahore in 2006. More than half his international wickets in Tests have come under Ganguly. Irfan has also been used up the order as a batsman, and has made vital contributions; he was a handy batsman lower down the order as well.

Irfan Pathan under Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy:

Span	Format	M	I	W	BBI	BBM
2003-2005	Tests	13	26	57	7/59	12/126
2004-2005	ODI	32	32	53	5/27	–

SS Das, Hemang Badani, Ajay Ratra, Amit Mishra, Tinu Yohannan, Deep Dasgupta, and Sanjay Bangar are some others who started their careers under Ganguly, and deserve mentions as they have played their parts in making the captain that he once was.

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)