Sourav Ganguly made 1992 debut in Australia by incredibly replacing THIS ex-India captain

Sourav Ganguly is widely regarded as one of the finest captains India has ever produced. Apart from his bold leadership abilities, the former cricketer was also a prolific run-scorer with the bat. Ganguly made his international debut back in 1992 when he was aged just 19. He represented the Indian team in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs until he announced his retirement in 2008.

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A throwback to Sourav Ganguly debut match

The Indian team, under the leadership of Mohammad Azharuddin, toured Australia for a Benson and Hedges World Series between December 1991 and January 1992. It was a triangular tournament involving West Indies and hosts Australia as the remaining two teams. Sourav Ganguly made his international debut in the ninth match of the series against West Indies at Brisbane. Interestingly, he was selected into the playing XI as a replacement for former Indian captain Ravi Shastri. Shastri and Ganguly have had a turbulent relationship over the years, with the former accusing the latter of disrespecting him in 2016 over the selection of the Indian team's head coach, leading to both the men commenting on each other on various occasions on media platforms.

The Sourav Ganguly debut match was highlighted by a superlative batting performance from none other than ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar. After winning the toss and batting first, the ‘Men in Blue’ could only put together 191 on the board. Sourav Ganguly himself was dismissed for just 3 and the entire batting order, barring Sachin Tendulkar's 77, collapsed in front of West Indies bowlers. While India ended up losing the match by six wickets, thus began a glorious 16-year journey for the talented left-handed batsman.

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Sourav Ganguly’s career in numbers

Across his 113 Test and 311 ODI appearances for Team India, Sourav Ganguly aggregated 7,212 and 11,363 runs respectively in both formats. He registered 38 international centuries and 107 half-centuries in the process. With a ball in hand, he took 132 wickets across formats with two ODI five-wicket hauls. As a captain, Sourav Ganguly led India to the final of the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where they lost to Australia.

Sourav Ganguly beyond the cricket field

Even after retirement, Sourav Ganguly has been in continuous association with the game, albeit as a cricket administrator. He is currently serving as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he was appointed to the role in October 2019. Previously, Sourav Ganguly was the President of CAB between 2015 and 2019.

On the other hand, Ravi Shastri, who has excelled as a media personality, remains India's head coach.

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Image source: ICC Twitter