Sourav Ganguly
MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly (Credits: Twitter)

Last Update on: July 8th, 2019 at 03:48 pm

Former India skipper MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly celebrated their birthdays on Sunday and Monday respectively. While Dhoni turned 38 on July 7, Ganguly turned 47 on July 8. Both the legendary players will be always remembered as two of the greatest players to have played for the nation and arguably the greatest captains of the country.

The contribution of Ganguly and Dhoni as captain to Indian cricket is immense. While Ganguly is credited for laying a solid foundation to make India the powerhouse it is today, Dhoni is being hailed for making the most of it and taking the team to unprecedented heights.

Till date, Dhoni is the only skipper to have won all the ICC events after leading India to World Cup glory in 2011 followed by the Champions Trophy title in 2013. He also led the Indian team to the pinnacle of Test cricket in 2009 in addition to winning several historic overseas series. MS Dhoni’s record as a batsman is equally impressive. He is one of the handful of players to have scored more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. In Tests, he scored 4,874 runs in 90 games.

Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly. Credits: PTI.

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On the other hand, Ganguly gave the Indian cricket a new direction after the match-fixing scandal in 2000. In 2001, he led India to the miraculous come-from-behind triumph against the all-conquering Australians. A couple of years later, he led India to the final of the World Cup. Under Ganguly, India drew the Test series in Australia and won one in Pakistan.

MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni (Credits: Twitter)

Ganguly ended his career with 7213 runs in 113 Tests and 11,363 runs in ODIs from 311 matches. He called it a day after the 2-0 win against Australia at home the following year in 2008. And as the fans are busy wishing their beloved stars on their birthdays, the ICC used the opportunity to get their views. ICC’s Twitter handle posted a photo of the two former captains and asked the fans whom do they rate highly.

“Two of the finest Indian captains, celebrating their birthdays within a day of each other. ?
Who do you rate more highly?,” wrote ICC.

Unsurprisingly, the fans were divided as some picked Ganguly while others went for Dhoni.

Here are some of the reactions to ICC’s query:

https://twitter.com/akashssmf/status/1148118207942651905

https://twitter.com/Encountersankar/status/1148117196326854658

https://twitter.com/AlwaysNaniFan/status/1148117765116424192