'It's a Much Bigger and Terrific Achievement': Sourav Ganguly on Nobel Prize to Abhijit Banerjee

Kolkata The Indian Cricket Board president-elect Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said the acheivement of Nobel prize winner and fellow Bangali Abhijit Banerjee was much bigger than his.`

"It's (Nobel prize) a much bigger and terrific achievement. I have not met him (Banerjee) ever. I was reading about him in the flight and what he did ... It's on economics related to poverty. He's a special person. Hopefully I will meet him someday," Ganguly said returning to his home town to a rousing reception after being elected as the BCCI president.

"From all of us, heartiest congratulations (to Banerjee)," he added. Banerjee, who is a teacher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday became the eighth Indian to get the award and was jointly chosen the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize winner along with Esther Duflo, also MIT professor and Harvard University's Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Duflo, who is Banerjee's wife, is the second woman to win the Nobel Prize for economics and its youngest recipient. On the same day, Ganguly, the former Indian cricket captain emerged as the lone contender in the race to be the BCCI president. He was the only one to have filed the nomination for world cricket's most-coveted post.