Sourav Ganguly celebrates 44th birthday: Twitterati hail Indian cricket's 'Maharaj'

New Delhi, July 8: Birthday wishes poured in from all quarters for former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly as he turned 44 on Friday (July 8).

On Sourav Ganguly's birthday, Virender Sehwag recalls shirt-waving at Lord's On Sourav Ganguly's birthday, Virender Sehwag recalls shirt-waving at Lord's

Ganguly, who is popularly known as Dada, is one of the country's most celebrated cricketers. He is also fondly called 'Maharaj' (king) and fans know he played like one.

Sourav Ganguly celebrates 44th birthday: Twitterati hail Indian cricket's 'Dada'

'#HappyBirthdayDada' trended on Twitter for the former batsman, who was the most successful Indian captain before the feat was surpassed by the present limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

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Credited for changing the image of Indian cricket -- 'being tigers at home and lambs overseas' -- Ganguly took charge of the Indian team following the match-fixing scandal in 2000 succeeding Mohammad Azharuddin.

Ganguly, who had made a memorable Test debut with a century at Lord's in 1996, went on to claim 11 wins from 28 away Tests, a record by any Indian captain. Ganguly amassed 7213 runs in 113 Tests and 11,363 runs from 311 ODIs.

Ganguly also led India to the finals of ICC Champions Trophy in 2001 (Sri Lanka), ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in South Africa, and won the famous NatWest series against England after which he celebrated by taking off his shirt at the Lord's balcony.

He retired from International cricket in 2008 during the home series against Australia and currently leads Eden Garden in an administrative role -- Cricket Association of Bengal president.

Here is how Twitterati wished Dada: