wht r ur views regarding Ganguly’s second coming

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A YEAR IS a long time in anyone’s career, and more so for cricketers. And, when that one year happens to be a year of layoff, it may even appear like a decade. In other words, a one-year break would wreck the confidence of any professional. This is precisely why one cannot but admire the way Sourav Ganguly has made his comeback into Team India. Nearly a year ago, Sourav was discarded from the Indian cricket team. This despite the fact that he had a decent record as an ODI batsman — around 40-run average as a Test batsman, and the best record for an Indian cricket captain. When Sourav was dropped from the team, there were not many in India who shed tears for the fallen hero. That was because Sourav was seen to have stayed on as captain in the last one year of his tenure by virtue of his proximity to Jagmohan Dalmiya, the then BCCI strongman. Even though Sourav’s batting had hit the nadir by then, he managed to continue as a member of Team India by virtue of his being the captain. Sourav was the blue-eyed boy of the cricket establishment then. There was also an impression that Sourav used his clout and the carte blanche that he received from the selectors — thanks to Dalmiya — to sideline senior cricketers like Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman. In other words, Sourav was seen as a beneficiary of nepotism, which has become the hallmark of many sports bodies in India. (Remember, Chappell accused Sourav of using the modus operandi of “divide and rule”.) Worse still, in the first-class match (West Zone Vs East Zone Duleep Trophy match) that Sourav chose to play immediately after his sacking, he was packed off for a blob in both the innings by Zaheer Khan. This only reinforced the widely held opinion that Sourav was weak against genuine pace bowling. In other words, Sourav was truly down and out. And, when his mentor, Dalmiya, was thrown out of the BCCI immediately thereafter, it seemed that the Sourav saga was over — once and for all. There were, of course, a few outside Kolkata who really felt sorry for Sourav. Numerically, he had more Test wins than any other captain of Team India. He was competitive, and he wore his aggression on his blue sleeves. During his tenure, he got a freehand in selection and used it to good effect. He sure had a hand in picking and supporting a few youngsters who later became the mainstay of Team India. But, unfortunately for Sourav, he allowed all this to go to his head. Perhaps, he thought that the individual was bigger than the team. Soon what was seen as his aggressiveness came to be viewed as arrogance by the public. Also, it was public knowledge that Sourav’s in-your-face aggression was sometimes directed at some senior Indian players whom he was not comfortable with. And, the last thing that the public would forgive in a person, whom they consider a hero, is arrogance. This was why Sourav did not get any support from the majority of the cricket fans in his spat with Greg Chappell. Almost all the opinion polls conducted then by the print and electronic media suggested that the public were not sympathetic to Sourav, his track record as an opener in ODIs and captain of Team India notwithstanding. Contrast this with the support that Sachin Tendulkar, another cricketing hero, manages to get from the public, even when he is on a prolonged lean patch. People are generous to a fault and very considerate when it comes to Tendulkar because he is seen as a humble and modest person for all his great achievements. Well, time teaches the hard way. A chastised Sourav, who once took his position in Team India for granted, was soon reduced to saying that he was prepared to play in any position and perform any role if he was selected. Fortunately for Sourav, by the time the ongoing South African series started, team coach Greg Chappell’s so-called experiments had left the Indian batting line-up in total disarray. Consequently, India lost the ODI series 4-0 to South Africa. The ruckus in Parliament that followed and the BCCI chief Sharad Pawar’s power equation with the Congress and the Left parties soon paved the way for Sourav’s redemption. How Sourav joined the other team members in South Africa and how he and his bete noire Chappell exchanged pleasantries have become part of cricketing folklore now, and need not be repeated here. To Sourav’s credit, he has conducted himself well so far. His presence does give the much-needed depth and solidity to the batting line-up that for the most part is strong on paper. His valiant knocks of 51 not out in the first innings when wickets were tumbling all around, and his decent 25 in the second innings on a difficult wicket show that he still has got a lot of cricket left in him. In all likelihood, he is here to stay at least till the World Cup next year. I admire the man’s tenacity and grit. Any other player in his place would have given up long ago. But Sourav’s faith and determination have stood him in good stead. However, Sourav’s real test has just begun. How Sourav conducts himself on and off the field will be watched with curiosity by the public as well as the media. Each of his on-field antics and off-field comments will be analyzed threadbare. I was one among the millions who cheered when Sourav was dumped. However, time and the way Sourav has conducted himself in the last one year have changed my perception of the man. Even if he fails to live up to our renewed expectations, I am sure he will be seen as someone who has contributed a lot to cricket in India. Salutes to Sourav, who has staged one of the greatest comebacks of Indian cricket! One hopes that Sourav grabs this opportunity with both hands and gives unstinted support to Rahul Dravid, who played a very crucial role in Sourav’s success as captai