Ganguly back in Team India - Magnum Opus or Oafish Melange ?

The latest news to throw one off his chair is the fact that Sourav Ganguly has been included in the forthcoming tests against Sri Lanka. While it should not be too surprising given the calibre of the man in the batting statistics despite his given decline in the last couple of years, what is bizarre is Kiran More telling the media at large that Ganguly’s selection was based on his ability as an all-rounder. Surely we heard wrong!

sourav ganguly

What is perhaps equally odd is that only the day previous, Mr. More made the comment while announcing Rahul Dravid’s appointment as captain for the same series that Ganguly’s performance did not merit a position and that India were moving forward. Then where exactly do we seem heading now, we beg to ask?

There was plenty to suggest Ganguly’s return to the team had more than just his legacy as a batsman in mind. It has to be said here that if the people of Bengal have felt let down, it should be because of the shoddy batting of the once famous, leading batsman and aggressive captain and not his being dropped by the board. Surprisingly the board has used the masses as a scapegoat to hint as Ganguly’s selection when it has become clear to all and sundry after the election fiasco that the forthcoming elections have much to say in an unvocal tone.

People of Kolkata boast of the world class ground like the Eden Gardens, considered a paradise and holy shrine for many of the cricketers around the world. People in Kolkata are generally considered to be fairly knowledgeable about the game, despite their huge obsession with football. Yet to support Ganguly only on the basis on his nativity suggests discrimination and narrow sightedness towards the overall team goals of national glory, which is contradictory to the propagated perception. Perhaps we need to revise that as well. If the selectors’ line of vision is anything to go by, this could well be Ganguly’s magnum opus for Indian cricket.

The Board cannot wash off its sins standing atop the Howrah bridge. Its toying with the affairs of Indian cricket has been reprehensible and disappointingly so considering its elite status. Had matters been settled forthrightly during the Asia Cup when Dravid briefly held the reins only to hand it over to a confounded batsman in Ganguly, much of what has transpired since could have been avoided. With Dravid leading the side, Ganguly could have been given a fair run in accordance with the outstanding service he has done for Indian cricket, as a prolific batsman and captain, and his fate decided accordingly. While there is no denying that his medium paced bowling has come handy on the odd occasion, for him to merit a place in the eleven in the present scenario as an all-rounder is a mockery to the man and the workings of the board and the selectors.

The onus now is on Ganguly to go at it alone in resolving his personal battles as well as those he will encounter purely as a member of the team, without the added privileges. Donning the humble garb, he made all the right noises but the conviction is not too convincing. Ganguly has lost much face, not to mention the respect of the masses, after the loss of his magic touch with the bat. His unwarranted fiasco in Zimbabwe, albeit prompted by a serious lack of foresight on the part of Greg Chappell, has made him the butt of jokes, much maligning all the good work he has done in the past. That the selectors and board have colluded in the plot, albeit unwittingly, has yet again grabbed more headlines than the heroics of Dravid, who continues in his silent, astute manner despite Chappell being given much credit for the turnaround.

It is amazing how many times one can fall flat on the face and yet get up as if nothing was lost! Or perhaps nothing was lost because over the years, nothing was gained to be lost and the selectors want to keep Mohinder Amarnath’s words ringing for decades!

Author: Sreelata S. Yellamrazu, IndianCricket.net