Former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly was today conferred an honorary D Litt degree by the prestigious Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) in recognition of his contribution to cricket.
Also, Honorary doctorates D Sc were given to chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation Dr K Radhakrishnan and director of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore professor P Balaram for their outstanding contributions in the fields of engineering and science.
State Governor M K Narayanan, who is also the chancellor of the university, conferred upon the degrees during the convocation ceremony at its campus here in Howrah's Shibpur.
While accepting the honour, Ganguly said this D Litt was not his first one, but the best one as it had come from his home state.
On earlier occasions, universities in London and Assam had conferred similar honours upon Ganguly.
"When I started my journey, I had never thought that I will ever reach this stage to get such a coveted honour," he said.
"We salute an Indian who built a world-class cricket team," the citation said, adding, that Ganguly took Indian cricket to a new-level with his leadership and aggression.
BESU vice-chancellor Ajoy Roy said, "Cricket is nothing but a combination of art, science and technology. As a cricketer, he fused science, technology and art in the sport. And his captaincy is a lesson for learning to the students in management science".
Narayanan described the retired cricketer as a legend.
Established in 1856 as a college, BESU has been approved by the Central government for upgradation to the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).
