"Happy birthday, Prince of Kolkata!" - Cricket fraternity extends special wishes as Sourav Ganguly turns 51

The cricket community extended warm wishes to former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly as he turned 51 on July 8. The Kolkatat-born cricketer retired from international cricket in 2008 after an eventful 16-year career, which witnessed many highs and lows.

Ganguly played 113 Test matches and scored 7212 runs at an average of 42.17, including 16 centuries and 35 half-centuries. His 239 against Pakistan in Bangalore in 2007 was his highest score in the red-ball format.

In ODI cricket, he amassed 11363 runs at an average of 41.02, with 22 centuries and 72 fifties to his name across 311 matches. Ganguly did not play in the T20I format in his career.

On the occasion of his 51st birthday, Sourav's former teammates and other members of the cricket fraternity were quick to wish him well on social media. Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh led the way with special posts.

Here are some of the wishes:

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As a young guy, if you have a captain like Sourav Ganguly, you get emboldened: Mohammad Kaif

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif recently heaped praise on Sourav Ganguly's leadership qualities. When asked to pick the best captain he played under during an interaction on 'Virtual Encounters' on DD India, Kaif chose Ganguly.

Kaif explained the rationale behind his choice by highlighting the advice, encouragement, and backing Ganguly gave the youngsters during his captaincy. He said:

"I remember he told me that I should go out there and give my best shot and that he is there to back me, he is there to support me. That's a big comment. As a young guy, if you have a captain like Sourav Ganguly, you get emboldened while playing for India.

"Ganguly was amazing, he was fantastic. Captaincy means you need to be a leader - lead from the front, pick the right players and back them. Ganguly built the team."

Kaif added:

"After what had happened earlier, when he got the opportunity to captain after the 2001 match-fixing scandal, he took the Indian team forward. He brought the likes of Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Harbhajan Singh. So I think he was the one who took the team forward, there is no doubt about that."