"I owe all my wickets to Sourav Ganguly's advice" – Ashoke Dinda 

Recently-retired India pacer Ashoke Dinda called fellow state-mate Sourav Ganguly a massive influence on his career and said he owed all his success with the ball to the former Indian captain.

Ganguly taught a young Dinda a trick of gripping the ball correctly, a piece of advice the bowler followed throughout his career and went on to claim 420 wickets in First-Class cricket.

Speaking to Sportskeeda's Indranil Basu in an SK Live session on Facebook, Ashoke Dinda lavished praises on his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ganguly and said he wouldn't be as successful without Sourav Ganguly.

"From the correct grip to wrist position to many other minute aspects of bowling, I have learned so much from Dada (Sourav Ganguly). He has been outstanding, and he has done a lot for me. I owe all my wickets to his pieces of advice.

"He was a massive influence on my bowling. In 2009, at Eden Gardens, he showed me the bowling grip I followed all my career, which I also share with youngsters.

"Dada told me that our leather ball is four-piece. He showed me a grip and the right finger position to get the ball's measure. It's more useful once the ball loses its newness and the shape alters. I got the advice instilled in my head and for the next 12 years and followed it every time I ran in to bowl," recalled Ashoke Dinda, one of the most successful fast bowlers in Ranji Trophy with 339 wickets.

Sourav Ganguly was India's captain when a young Ashoke Dinda was making his mark in Bengal cricket and pressing for a Ranji Trophy berth. The early part of Dinda's domestic career coincided with Ganguly's playing days. Apart from Bengal, they also represented KKR during the early IPL days and later the now defunct Pune Warriors India.

Zaheer Khan, another big influence: Ashoke Dinda

Ashoke Dinda also called Zaheer Khan another 'big influence' and shared an instance when the left-armer pace champion guided him to perfect the seam position.

"During an ODI series, I was bowling, and the ball wasn't landing on the seam. Zaheer Khan showed me a small trick on perfecting the seam position. I kept practising that all day and I enjoyed bowling after that. Everything was landing the way I wanted. Zaheer-bhai was another big influence," Ashoke Dinda added.

One of India's best fast bowlers, Zaheer Khan has had a significant impact on several fast bowlers worldwide. In 2011, James Anderson had revealed that he had learned to hide the ball from watching Zaheer during the 2007 India's tour of England.

Ashoke Dinda's full interview