India’s one of the most successful captains and India’s most successful captain overseas, Sourav Ganguly turns 47 today. With 11,363 runs in 311 ODIs, Ganguly is currently the third highest run-scorer for India in the 50-over-format. Sourav Ganguly shared great camaraderie with Sachin Tendulkar and both went onto put together 6,609 runs in 136 matches that include 21 century partnerships and 23 fifty run partnerships. But stats apart, there are a lot of other things that could be learned from Dada, other than Cricket.

Be a leader, not the boss

There had been a few successful captains before the era of Dada began but none before him tasted the kind of success that Dada achieved. And one of the reasons has been, his attitude of leading. He chose to lead the team on his own terms. He led the team to success, he owned the defeats and he stood to his words.

Find the right people

Dada went on to find the talented players from the corners of the country. He found the players that were sheer talent, be it the Captain Cool Dhoni from Ranchi, or Yuvi, Bhajji, Kaif, or RP Singh from the tiny town of Uttar Pradesh, the list goes on! He never settled for less, and he never went with the so called ‘resume’. He built the team and that had the potential to defeat the strongest team like Australia.

Kindle the hunger for success

Before the era of Sourav Ganguly, India would give up easily, we all know this (90’s kids would surely relate to this statement!). People used to switch off the TV when Sachin was dismissed. Dada quenched the thirst for win. The iconic win at Lord’s in the Natwest Series against England is one such example when Team India nailed the win.

Find the true potential of team

When Dhoni was taken in the team, he used to bat at number 7. During the match against Pakistan in Vishakhapatnam on April 5, 2005, he was sent at number 3 and the result we all know, Dhoni hit 148 runs off 123 balls. That match raised the curtains for the era of Dhoni. And we all know what happened next! Dhoni carried the true legacy that Dada left.

Never, Ever, Give Up!

The ugly saga of the Greg Chappel and Dada was that one thing that led Maharaj down. First he was snatched off from his captaincy and then he was thrown out of the team. Many said that it was the end of Sourav Ganguly. But then, he is called Maharaj for some reason. He started from ground zero, played in the grounds like Silliguri, played Ranji and oh boy! scored tons of runs to pave the path of his return to team India. Ganguly’s inning led India to win. Also, his first ODI after two years, he scored the match-winning 98 runs.

And finally, in his last test, Dada scored 85 in first inning and 0 in second and was asked to do the captaincy for the last day by Dhoni.

Dada never gave up and bid goodbye by winning the lost respect that might have been tough for any other player. Of course, I repeat, HE’S THE MAHARAJ FOR SOME REASON!