On the occasion of his 47th birthday, former Indian cricket captain and Padma Shri recipient, Sourav Ganguly on Monday announced his entry to Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app.

Through Instagram, Sourav via his handle "souravganguly", hopes to connect directly with his young fans, share memorable moments from his illustrious cricketing career, cheer for the Indian team as they play in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup and express his opinion on social causes, with Instagram's 1 billion strong global community, an official statement said here.

"Reinvention is constantly required in cricket, as it is required in life. From leading India on the field, to commentary, to advising an IPL team, to now joining Instagram, I continue being connected with people who're passionate about this amazing sport. I hope to engage with young fans by sharing valuable insights on cricketing events and encourage them to join me in causes close to my heart," Ganguly was quoted as saying in the statement.

"As I turn another year older today, I want to make this a year where I give back to my fans. So here's to birthdays and new beginnings," the former skipper captioned his first image on Instagram where he is seen cutting a cake. 

Welcoming him to the Instagram community, Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, said: "Enabling expression and fostering connections are at the heart of Instagram, and for public figures like Sourav Ganguly, the community serves as another creative outlet that enables them to directly engage with their fans. 

"We are thrilled to welcome him to Instagram and look forward to seeing him share his passions and engage with the community."

Ganguly joins a long list of eminent personalities from Bengal who are present on Instagram to engage with their fans, including actresses and newly-appointed MPs Nusrat Jahan and Mimi Chakraborty.

He already has a strong Facebook community of over 600,000 people and also has 4.12 million followers on Twitter.