Former India captain Sourav Ganguly set to enter ICC Hall Of Fame, join elite list of cricket legends: Report

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is set to receive one of cricket's highest honours, with reports claiming he will be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame later this week. According to a report by the Times of India, the official announcement is expected on July 11. 

The development comes on a special occasion for Ganguly, who celebrated his 54th birthday on July 8. While the International Cricket Council (ICC) is yet to make an official announcement, the report states that the former skipper is set to become the 12th Indian cricketer to be inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame.

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Sourav Ganguly set for prestigious ICC honour

If confirmed, Ganguly will join an elite list of Indian cricket legends, including MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble, Virender Sehwag, Vinoo Mankad, Bishan Singh Bedi, Diana Edulji, and Neetu David.

Ganguly has been eligible for the honour since 2013, and his reported induction is expected to end years of debate surrounding his absence from the prestigious list.

A captain who changed Indian cricket

Ganguly is widely regarded as one of India's most influential captains. He took charge of the national team in 2000 during one of the most difficult phases in Indian cricket following the match-fixing scandal and played a key role in rebuilding the side.

Under his captaincy, India emerged as a fearless overseas competitor. The team reached the 2003 ICC ODI World Cup final, shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy title, registered a historic Test series win in Pakistan in 2004, and famously ended Australia's 16-match winning streak in Kolkata in 2001.

His aggressive leadership style also helped nurture a generation of stars, including Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and MS Dhoni, laying the foundation for India's future success.

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Numbers that define Ganguly's career

Apart from his achievements as captain, Ganguly enjoyed an outstanding career with the bat. The elegant left-hander scored 7,212 runs in 113 Tests, including 16 centuries, and 11,363 runs in 311 ODIs with 22 hundreds. Across international cricket, he amassed 18,575 runs and claimed 132 wickets with his medium pace.

Popularly known as the "God of the Off-side", Ganguly was renowned for his elegant cover drives and formed one of ODI cricket's most successful opening partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar.

Biopic first look unveiled

The reported Hall of Fame honour comes just as the first look of Ganguly's upcoming biopic, 'Dada', was unveiled on his birthday. The poster features Rajkummar Rao, who will portray the former India captain, recreating Ganguly's iconic shirt-waving celebration after India's famous 2002 NatWest Series triumph at Lord's.

Reacting to the poster on social media, Ganguly called it the "best gift ever" and wrote, "The Best Gift Ever! Can't wait to see you play my cover drive!" while tagging the actor.

While the cricketing world awaits the ICC's official confirmation, Ganguly's reported induction is set to recognise the remarkable impact he made as both a batter and one of India's most transformative captains.