When Sourav Ganguly called THIS former Indian player the 'Diego Maradona of cricket'

Legendary Argentinian footballer and one of the biggest sporting icon Diego Maradona passed away on Wednesday, November 25 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Maradona bid farewell to the world just days after celebrating his 60th birthday. The 1986 World Cup winner was not keeping well and had, earlier this month, underwent brain surgery in Buenos Aires.

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When Sourav Ganguly compared Sachin Tendulkar to Diego Maradona

As soon as the Diego Maradona death news was out, tributes started pouring in from every nook and cranny of the world. Former Indian cricket captain and the current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly took to social media to express grief about the passing away of his "hero". The former Indian cricketer has always been vocal about his love for the footballing legend.

In fact, in an interview with PTI in 2013, Dada had said that his former teammate and legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is the only one who can only be compared to Maradona when it comes to international sporting icons. After the Master Blaster decided to hang his boots from international cricket in the same year, Ganguly had said that Maradona and Tendulkar are his favourites and both are 'geniuses'. Ganguly putting Tendulkar in the same bracket as Maradona was a testament to the mastery of the Indian veteran.

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Sachin Tendulkar stats

The Sachin Tendulkar stats in his international career are something that one can only dream of. The Sachin Tendulkar stats include his 100 international centuries out of which he scored 51 in Tests. The Sachin Tendulkar centuries count also include his 49 tons in ODIs. Sachin Tendulkar called it quits from international cricket in 2013 after scoring 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches at an average of 54.04 and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83.

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Sourav Ganguly pays tribute to his hero 'Diego Maradona'

Ganguly took to Twitter and wrote Maradona is no more, describing him as "mad genius". He added that he had watched football because of him. Ganguly shared the picture of him and Maradona holding hands together from the latter's visit to Kolkata in 2017. At the time of the meeting, Ganguly had described Maradona as his "childhood icon" and said that he watched the footballer win the 1986 World Cup and he was delighted to meet him in person. 

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SOURCE: SOURAV GANGULY INSTAGRAM