Batsman to Captain to Indian Cricket's leader: Kaif recounts Ganguly's journey; trolls him

From calling the southpaw a fine batsman to terming him as an outstanding captain, former cricketer & teammate Mohammad Kaif heaped praise on Sourav Ganguly as the ex-Indian skipper turned 49 years old on Wednesday. Turning the clock back, Kaif shared Sourav Ganguly's iconic shirtless celebration on the Lord's balcony after India beat England in 2002 and extended his birthday wishes to the BCCI President. Addressing Dada as his 'favourite mentor and captain', Kaif took a sly dig at Sourav Ganguly for the iconic shirtless celebration. 

Former and current cricketers took to social media to extend their wishes to Sourav Ganguly as the 'Prince of Kolkata' turned 49 on Wednesday. Former Test specialist VVS Laxman wished more success as he extended his greetings and wishes to Ganguly. Spinner Pragyan Ojha hailed Ganguly's efforts -- from captain to administrator to make Indian cricket consistently better. Team India's spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin hailed Ganguly as an inspiration and wished the BCCI President success in the future.

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'From a fine batsman to an outstanding captain'

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Indian cricketers extend wishes to Sourav Ganguly

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Iconic 2002 NatWest series

Stitching a significant partnership of 121 runs when India had lost the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and skipper Sourav Ganguly early in the innings it was the duo of Kaif-Yuvraj that helped India make a comeback. Unfortunately, Yuvraj Singh could not finish the match for India as he got out at 69 but Kaif continued the show and took the Men in Blue across the line.

After the infamous victory, it was skipper Sourav Ganguly's aggressive celebration that grabbed eyeballs making the victory even more historic. Ganguly had removed his shirt at the Lord's balcony to celebrate and eventually photographing the historic moment. The skipper had later revealed that he did it to level up England's Andrew Flintoff who had celebrated in a similar manner after England's victory in Mumbai during the previous tour. 

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