Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly had a memorable 43th birthday on Wednesday as he unveiled a 3D printed statuette of himself and received warm greetings from his former teammates and fellow co-members of his football franchise Atletico De Kolkata.
Ganguly, who is also known affectionately as ‘Dada’ amongst his fans, unveiled the statuette at a brief function in his palatial south Kolkata residence.
“I am overwhelmed by the love and affection that my fans in general and those here in Kolkata in particular continue to shower on me,” said the Prince of Calcutta.
“I have seen such figurines abroad and am sure 3d statuettes will be embraced by all with equal enthusiasm,” he said.
Ganguly was flooded with wishes from cricketers, sports administrators and his legions of fans.
Sachin Tendulkar, who combined with Ganguly to form the best ODI opening pair, tweeted “#HappyBirthdayDada @SGanguly99, stay young as always!!!”.
#HappyBirthdayDada @SGanguly99, stay young as always!!! pic.twitter.com/msoUd3IN9Q
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 8, 2015
Kumble tweeted: “Happy birthday dada @SGanguly99 have a great year ahead! God bless!”
Happy birthday dada @SGanguly99 have a great year ahead! God bless!
— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) July 8, 2015
The International Cricket Council called him “one of the finest Indian batsmen of the 21st century”.
Happy Birthday to one of @BCCI‘s finest batsmen of the 21st century, Sourav Ganguly! http://t.co/ymhpFX4R1s pic.twitter.com/aZixPPhasb
— ICC (@ICC) July 8, 2015
The Board of Control for Cricket in India in its tweet wished Ganguly “a very happy birthday”.
Here’s wishing former #TeamIndia Captain @SGanguly99 a very happy birthday. #HappyBirthdayDada pic.twitter.com/rds1syKycj
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 8, 2015
At a function where the Ganguly co-owned Indian Super League franchise Atletico de Kolkata unveiled the team jersey, leading industrialists Sanjiv Goenka, HarshavardhanANeotia, and team Head Coach Antonio Lopez Habas sang in unison “Happy birthday to you” as the former cricketer watched with a smile.