Jan 19, 2004 07:24 PM
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(Updated Jan 19, 2004 07:24 PM)
SAURAV GANGULY
SYNOPSIS
India wins one Test Match and one One-Day match against Australia and MS writers go crazy writing about Indian Cricketers and the Captain. All previous losses, humiliations, near misses are forgotten. The country goes crazy. It’s like a high on heroin until the next low, that is another resounding defeat! Come defeat and the age old “Match Fixing” stories start doing the rounds.
THE CAPTAIN
Question: Then why are you writing a review?
Answer: Because I am a crazy Cricket fan like everyone else. And I like Gangs the man.
Q: What about Gangs?
A: Gangs is a born Leader of Men , like a General. On the field he is like a Cheetah, agile, fast, cunning waiting to make a kill. He is good at sledging too.
Q: But Rahul Dravid, he should have been made the Captain before Gangs.
A: Rahul is level headed, intelligent cricketer. But Gangs, he has raw KILLER INSTINCTS . He is short tempered, a Bengal Tiger. There is an animalistic quality in Gangs that I have not seen in Dravid. Gangs is impatient. He is hungry all the time to win . Rahul is too much of a gentleman. His time may come.
Q: But look at his batting record on this tour. Nothing to write home about.
A: His batting record is just as good as any other Captain’s. Captaincy is about leadership qualities, leading upfront, getting the best out of all your players, encouraging the new comers. Look, he gave Rohan Gavaskar 9 overs to bowl as a fifth bowler at a very difficult time during the match. and see the results! First over fifth ball Rohan got a wicket and he bowled so economically. When Balaji dropped a catch he told him “Forget the catch. Get on with the job at hand!”. And Balaji got 4 wickets for his Captain. That is leadership. Gangs makes his players believe in themselves. .His teammates worship him. Like the Indian soldiers worshipped Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. Gangs is a born leader of men.
Q: Okay. But when he was a Captain, he spoiled his image with an affair with an Indian actress. That was setting a bad example to his juniors.
A: At that point of time in his Captaincy, he needed an outlet. There was much too much steam inside his pressure cooker. Naghma, the actress, was sort of a safety valve that did him good.After a while he learned to handle pressure both on and off the field without a safety valve. He did not repeat an Azza-Bijlani disaster. So he is smart.
Q: Yes I see your point. The Indian Cricket Board must provide safety valves for all future Captains who use pressure cookers.
A: All Indian cricket Captains are not like Saurav Ganguly. His kind of Generals comes once in a generation. While he is there the sun will shine on Indian Cricket
