BCCI Prez Sourav Ganguly fecilitated by British Parliament; 'As a Bengali, it was so nice'

Former India captain and the current president of the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly was felicitated by the British Parliament on Wednesday. Ganguly was felicitated on the 20th anniversary of the Natwest series final that India had won under his captaincy in 2002. Ganguly, while speaking to ANI, said "it was nice" to be felicitated by the British Parliament as a Bengali. The 50-year-old said that he was contacted by the British Parliament six months ago regarding the annual felicitation ceremony.    

"I was felicitated by the British Parliament as a Bengali so it was nice. It was in the Parliament. They contacted me six months ago. They do this award every year and I got it," Ganguly was quoted as saying by ANI. 

Speaking about the Natwest series,  Ganguly stated that he saw the video of the winning moment on Instagram and it was great. Ganguly said there is nothing better than beating England in England. Ganguly said the current Indian squad is doing it, adding that they have already won the T20I series and are 1-0 up in the ODI series.  

"Oh! yeah I saw that on Instagram. It has been a long time isn't it? 20 years ago. Yeah great moments in sport beating England in England is nothing better than that. The current team is doing it. They won the T20 series. They are 1 up in the one day series," Ganguly added. 

2002 Natwest Final

The 2002 Natwest series was a one-day international tri-series played between India, England, and Sri Lanka. India and England qualified for the final of the series after finishing in the top two positions following the group stages. India went on to beat England in the final of the series to win the Natwest trophy at Lord's Cricket ground. The Men in Blue chased down a mammoth target of 326 runs in 49.3 overs to win the final.  

Ganguly, who was the captain of the side, scored 60 off 43 balls in the final game before being bowled by Alex Tudor. India were looking in deep trouble at one point in time before youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif forged a crucial 120-run partnership to chase down the target. Kaif was named the player of the match for scoring an unbeaten 87 off 75 balls. 

Image: PTI