Sourav Ganguly turns 40 on Sunday
Kolkata, July 8 : Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly turned 40 on Sunday and the Prince of Kolkata in a birthday interview said he played cricket for the love of the game and not for money.
The former Indian skipper is considered to be one of the finest batsmen of India and under his leadership the Indian side performed well on foreign soil especially in Australia, Pakistan and England.
He had also guided the young Indian side to the World Cup final in 2003 at South Africa where they lost to Australia in the final.
He retired from the national team in 2008 after the Test series against Australia on the home turf.
In an interview to a Kolkata daily, Sourav Ganguly said: "I am definitely not playing because of money. In fact, I can earn more if I give more time to television.. I can earn more if I sit in my father's chair and look after our business. If I am still playing, it's because I love cricket."
Besides a cricketer he will always be remembered as a man who fought to return to the Indian side over and over again despite being dropped from the team for questionable reasons.
His disputes with former Indian coach Greg Chappell was the fodder for media and had his fans in Bengal rallying round him.
In West Bengal Sourav Ganguly has a cult following almost and he is the favourite Dada of Indian cricket.
Last year Ganguly made another comeback after he was dropped from the Kolkata Knight Riders team of Indian Premiere League (IPL), as he played for Pune Warriors India and struck a well crafted innings in the first match itself to lead the team to victory.
In the 5th season of IPL, Ganguly was appointed as the captain cum mentor of the team. Though initially the team started well, but later on lost the momentum.
Ganguly has even hosted few quiz shows in Bengali television channels.