Dec 03, 2006 11:48 AM
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After having demolished most bowling attacks in the late 1990s, Saurav Ganguly was the man of the moment and one half of the world's most successful opening combination (the other half being that great Titan of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar). So, it really came as no surprise when the elegant left hander inherited captaincy once AAzharuddin and Jadeja lost favour due to match fixing scandals. Immediately after becoming captain, Ganguly made it clear that he wanted to get rid of that lethargic acceptance of loss, where the team walked out onto the field half expecting to lose before a ball was bowled. Indeed, in the 2000 ICC knockout tournament in Kenya, the Indian team reached the finals after defeating the mighty Proteas and the marauding Aussies!
Soon after that, the Indian team hit a golden patch after finding the ideal combinmation of youth and experience. Players such as Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan were groomed in the international arena under the watchful eye of their agressive skipper. But in all this, Ganguly's own personal form took a backseat and his shortcomings against the short ball were exaggerated in such a way that it gnawed on the Bengali's psyche and the problem becamne more psychological than anything else. The bowlers hurled missiles at speeds of over 140 kmph into the man's ribcage and Ganguly, for a while, faltered. Soon, the criticism from back home and the pressure to perform broke his back, and he failed miserably on one outing after another. The joke going around at this time was that we took to the field with 10 players, for Ganguly was as good as nothing with the bat and a liability in the field. But his leadership skills were never called into question: he was still the roaring and testosterone fuelled leader he had been when the Indians defeated the Aussies in a test series in 2001. The coach at thsi tiem, John Wright, understood that courting controversy was not the answer and stuck to Ganguly's leadership and style of batting. But once Greg Chappell became coach, things have gone downhill for the Bengali. After a very public spat with coach Chappell, he was dropped from the one day team and styripped off hsi captaincy. His dropping must have been embaressing, and even the autorickshaw drivers quarrelled on whether Ganguly should be brought back. He did make some headway to warrant his place in the side: some gritty knocks in Pakistan and a successful campaign for Bengal this year mean that he was back on the radar once the youngsters failed miserably in the Caribbean and West Indies.
Sure enough, the selection panle has gone in for experience over youthful exuberance by bringing Laxman (the other enigma of Indian cricket) and Ganguly back into the fold for the Test series. Indeed, it shall be interesting to see whether Ganguly has utilsied his time in the wilderness to the optimum. Does he still have that fire in him? Is he still as hungry for success as he was in 1996 on his test dubut? The answers to these questions is a loud "YES". But does he still have the skill to play at the highest level? Are his reflexes and mind sharp enough to survive thre cut throat competitiveness of international cricket? The answers to these questions shall be answered very shortly in South Africa. Ganguly can redeem his name and forever etch his name in Indian cricket as the fighter who never gave up.......but if he fails now,it shall most certainly be the end of his career. Against this tense backdrop, the fatye of Indian ricket swings from one end to the other..............
