Wisden overview
Sourav Ganguly is contemporary cricket's answer to David Gower, combining amazing grace and surgical precision in his strokeplay on the off side. After a promising start, his career spluttered to a standstill before being resurrected by a scintillating hundred on Test debut at Lord's in 1996. He went on to become India's most effective performer in the limited-overs game and also one of a trinity - along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - that formed the bulwark of the batting line-up in Tests. He showed himself to be a tough, intuitive - if at times controversial - leader against Australia but a downturn in his batting fortunes that coincided with a loss of inspiration saw pressure being heaped on him. On the recent tour of the West Indies, he batted with tremendous grit and application to overcome many of the short-ball demons that have plagued his Test career, though he failed to inspire his side to an elusive series win abroad. Bowls assorted medium-pacers that can prove a handful on seaming tracks. Dileep Premachandran

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd