Sourav Ganguly Birthday 2023: When skip Ganguly pulled a fast one on teen Yuvi

Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly

Former India middle-order batter Yuvraj Singh once recalled an incident that gave him a sleepless night, courtesy his then India captain Sourav Ganguly. Yuvraj made his debut for India against Australia at the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament.

A day before the 18-year-old was set to get his India cap, Ganguly went up to him and asked him if he could open the innings for India. The team had a settled opening pair of Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly.

A young Yuvraj, who had little choice, said yes to his captain, but revealed that he was so nervous that he could not sleep the whole night before the match. "I told Sourav, ‘Yeah, if you want me to open, I'll open', but whole night I didn't sleep," Yuvraj was quoted as saying on Sports18. On the morning of the match, the captain confessed pulling a fast one and opened the innings himself.

Also Read: When ‘Dada' announced his Test arrival with an iconic century at Lord's

Dada, as he is popularly known, was appointed the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2019 and has worked brilliantly for the well-being of Indian cricket. Prior to that, he served India for as long as 15 years after making his debut back in January 1992 against the West Indies in Brisbane. Ganguly's career took off in 1996 when he scored a sparkling century versus England at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground.

Ganguly is ranked among one of the best captains in Indian cricket history as he led the side to 2003 ODI World Cup final and Champions Trophy victories in 2002. He groomed several young talents and gave chances to them in the Indian team during his captaincy who later went on to become greats of the game including Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.