In this thread, we will look at the achievements of Sourav Ganguly, one of the greatest captains in history. He took over a broken team, and he joined the pieces to lay the foundations of the most successful Indian team.

@SGanguly99 @BCCI

Stats without context is just random data, but stats with context is insight. So we will first understand the background before looking at the raw numbers themselves.

From 1986 to the time Sourav Ganguly was appointed as permanent captain, India won just one out of 49 Tests away from home. Even that win came against Sri Lanka, who were considered minnows at that time.

Under Dada's captaincy, India won 11 Tests and lost just 10 outside home. Under his leadership, India conquered territories, we could never have dreamt of.

Yes, this win was at home, but this thread can’t be complete without mentioning the 2001 Test series vs Australia. Do I need to write anything about this?

We drew the Test Series in England in 2002 and came very close to beating mighty Australia in their own backyard. We had never won a Test in Pakistan, India went on to win the Test series in the arch-rivals’ territory.

Before Dada’s captaincy, India had won 113 ODIs and lost 157 away from home or neutral venues. Under him, we won 57 matches, losing only 48. Here is a picture from our series win in Pakistan.

We reached the final of 2000 knockout trophy in Kenya, and were the joint winners of the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.

Why do we overrate Natwest Trophy, it was just a tri-series? No, it was not, it was a huge step for a step which had not a multinational trophy outside Asia for 17 years. We also showed the world that Indians can return the aggression.

Before the 2003 World Cup, we had failed to clear the first round of World Cup only once outside Asia, which was in 1983. In 2003, we played some incredible cricket in the seamer-friendly conditions winning nine out of 11 matches.

Although the defeat in the final still hurts, let's be honest about it, we lost to the greatest team in history. All said and done, it was not a bad tournament for a team which was given no chance before the event.

Till now we looked at the things which can be quantified, but some contributions of Dada can't be quantified. One of them was to promote and back youngsters, under his leadership 30 players in ODIs, and 19 in Tests made their debut.

He was absolutely selfless as captain, as he agreed to leave his opening slot for the team. Sourav could have scored more centuries if he didn’t leave his position, but he always thought about the team.

Many call him "Prince of Kolkata", but for me, he is the "king of Indian cricket", as he built the empire from scratch. Really hope that he keeps serving Indian cricket, even in his new role as @BCCI president.