New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Batting great Sachin Tendulkar congratulated former India captain Sourav Ganguly after the latter was named as the latest inductee into the ICC Hall of Fame on his 54th birthday, with Ganguly responding that joining the iconic batter in the prestigious list was the “biggest job satisfaction ever.”

Taking to X, Tendulkar shared a heartfelt message for his long-time teammate, with whom he formed one of the most successful opening partnerships in ODI cricket.

“There aren’t too many surprises left after knowing each other since we were 14. This wasn’t one either. Congratulations @SGanguly99. So happy to see you in the @ICC Hall of Fame!” Tendulkar wrote.

Responding to the message, an emotional Ganguly thanked the cricket icon and said being inducted alongside him was the greatest satisfaction of his cricketing career.

“Thank you champion… to be in the same list as you is the biggest job satisfaction ever @bcci,” Ganguly replied on X.

Currently serving as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Ganguly is set to become the 12th Indian overall and the 10th Indian men’s cricketer to receive one of cricket’s highest honours.

One of the finest ODI batters of his generation, Ganguly scored 11,363 runs in 311 ODIs, including 22 centuries, while also claiming 132 wickets. In Test cricket, he amassed 7,212 runs in 113 matches.

Affectionately known as the ‘God of the Off-side’, Ganguly took over India’s captaincy in 2000 during the match-fixing crisis and transformed the team’s mindset with an aggressive approach. Under his leadership, India won the 2002 NatWest Trophy, shared the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, reached the 2003 ODI World Cup final, secured a historic Test series victory in Pakistan in 2004, and scripted the famous comeback win against Australia in the 2001 Kolkata Test at Eden Gardens.

After retiring, Ganguly served as the BCCI president during the Covid-19 pandemic and currently works as the Director of Cricket for Delhi Capitals in the IPL and WPL, besides being the head coach of Pretoria Capitals in SA20.

The International Cricket Council is expected to formally announce the latest Hall of Fame inductees on July 11 at the conclusion of its annual conference in Edinburgh. Previous Indian inductees include Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinoo Mankad, Diana Edulji, Virender Sehwag, Neetu David and MS Dhoni.

–IANS

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