Sourav Ganguly Birthday special: When the former skipper revealed he became a cricketer 'accidentally'

One of India's most prolific ODI openers and enigmatic cricket captains, Saurav Ganguly, turned 48 on Wednesday.

Dada, as he is lovingly called, has 11,363 runs and 22 ODI hundreds to his name. Even as he is known as one of the best opening batsmen Indian cricket has ever been produced, the BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly once revealed that he became a cricketer by “accident”.

During an online interaction with learners on the ‘Unacademy app’, Ganguly said he loved football and was pretty good at it in his school. he said his father had asked him to join cricket coaching to keep him away from mischief.

“Football was my life. I was very good at it till class nine. During one summer vacation, my father (late Chandi Ganguly, who was in the Cricket Association of Bengal) told me you’re doing nothing at home, go and practice. He put me in a cricket academy,” the former skipkker who led India to many memorable wins said.

Under his leadership, India went on to beat Australia in Test series in 2001, beat England at Lord’s to win 2002 Natwest Trophy, reached 2003 ODI World Cup final, drew against England in Test series in 2004, and even defeated Pakistan in a Test series in 2005.

“I loved going there because it kept me away from home my parents, my brothers, my family, who were very disciplined. For me, this was a time away from them. I don’t know what my coach saw in me he told my father you should take him out of football. So I got into cricket,” he added.

Ganguly, who captained India in 49 tests, was the one who handed MS Dhoni his international debut against Bangladesh on December 23, 2004. It was then that Dhoni recalled how he rose to fame with his 148 against Pakistan batting at Number three.