BY BISWADEEP GHOSH
Has anyone bothered to remember the 'No Kapil, no test' call in Kolkata when Kapil Dev Nikhanj, a Jat from Haryana, was dropped from the Indian team because he had played an irresponsible shot in the previous test? Sunny Gavaskar, the captain, was pelted with oranges while fielding and the crowd was openly hostile towards him when he went out to bat.
I am not defending this moment at all. But all I am trying to say if the crowd in Kolkata can be so passionate when it concerned Kapil, who is as Bengali as Sherlock Holmes is Greek, can there be any reason why they will not cry out Sourav's name and jeer Dravid? That might be unsporting, but that is the way many Kolkatan fans are.
What Chappell should not done is stick a finger out of the bus later. He is the coach after all. But then, Chappell's methods have been ungentlemanly in a gentleman's game earlier as well. How can anyone forget why he made his younger brother Trevor bowl underarm in an act of 'experimentation' I suppose?
The media has been ridiculously biased when it came to reporting against things that have gone wrong even otherwise. Sourav has been the media's scapegoat for a while. Imagine what would have happened if we had lost our previous encounter against the Proteas, and Sourav had kept the best bowler RP Singh out of the attack after the latter had conceded just 18 runs in his seven overs? Abuses would have been hurled by one and all. But in this case, no one made a hue and cry about it.
The most comical of them all was the decision to send Irfan Pathan to bat as an opener. Had we been playing against Bangladesh, one would have understood why that had been done. But against the Proteas? That is out and out idiotic. As I say so, just think what would have happened if Ganguly had sent Pathan as the opener! I am not even saying it.
In an era of experimentation, and under an Australian coach-cum-non-playing captain who sticks a finger out of the bus that the board defends, what should we expect now? As I round this off, I can see Rahul Dravid bowling underarm and Chappell sticking a finger out from the dressing room when a Kallis or a Pollock spanks the cherry for a six!
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
CONVERSATION WITH A CRICKET JOURNO
BY BISWADEEP GHOSH
The Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell duo are winning matches for India, a senior cricket journo told me just after Ganguly made a comeback to the team. Needless to say, he was hassled. So, what are his allegations against Sourav?
He: He has not been performing with the bat.
I: Everybody goes through a low. Ganguly was dropped because he did not perform. Now he has given enough evidence that he wants to make a comeback. So, big deal!
He: Ganguly has turned into a conniving politician of late.
I: Evidence?
He: I know the inside story.
I: What is the inside story? If you journos know it, you should spill the beans right? That is what you are paid for.
Briefly, evidence!
He: The majority who are talking about Ganguly are Bengalis. Shame on you.
I: Big deal! Have you forgotten the days when Bombay used to decide the choice of players in the Indian cricket team? Didn't one person from the Bombay lobby back another? He is an icon in Bengal. So, Bengalis would worship him just as nobody from Bombay wants to believe that Sachin is not at his best any longer.
He: He has been a bad influence on the team because of his insecurities.
I: He created the team you are talking about. So, evidence!
He: I cannot tell you for you to blog it.
I: I won't tell who you are but certainly blog it. Why? Like every cricket lover, I want to how much shit is flying around if it is.
In other words, I want evidence against the guy, written by journos whose job is to break stories and not sit over them.
The Rahul Dravid-Greg Chappell duo are winning matches for India, a senior cricket journo told me just after Ganguly made a comeback to the team. Needless to say, he was hassled. So, what are his allegations against Sourav?
He: He has not been performing with the bat.
I: Everybody goes through a low. Ganguly was dropped because he did not perform. Now he has given enough evidence that he wants to make a comeback. So, big deal!
He: Ganguly has turned into a conniving politician of late.
I: Evidence?
He: I know the inside story.
I: What is the inside story? If you journos know it, you should spill the beans right? That is what you are paid for.
Briefly, evidence!
He: The majority who are talking about Ganguly are Bengalis. Shame on you.
I: Big deal! Have you forgotten the days when Bombay used to decide the choice of players in the Indian cricket team? Didn't one person from the Bombay lobby back another? He is an icon in Bengal. So, Bengalis would worship him just as nobody from Bombay wants to believe that Sachin is not at his best any longer.
He: He has been a bad influence on the team because of his insecurities.
I: He created the team you are talking about. So, evidence!
He: I cannot tell you for you to blog it.
I: I won't tell who you are but certainly blog it. Why? Like every cricket lover, I want to how much shit is flying around if it is.
In other words, I want evidence against the guy, written by journos whose job is to break stories and not sit over them.
QUESTIONS, HAZAAR QUESTIONS!
BY BISWADEEP GHOSH
Sourav Ganguly is back in the team. The fighter in him is trying hard to make an impact as was evident from his performance with the ball against Maharashtra today. A spell of five wickets for 64 runs, including four top order players, from a player under so much stress cannot be a bad performance by any yardstick of judgement. But then that is the way Sourav is. After being dropped from the team, he, instead of sulking away, just went out and hammered a century against North Zone.
India's most successful captain, Sourav gave Steve Waugh's Australians the treatment they deserved. That, to my mind, is the most glorious chapter of his career as a captain. But the questions that need to be answered are many.
* Ganguly is known to be a 'man with the golden arm', but he is basically a batsman who, at his best, can be ruthlessly destructive. So, how did our selection committee choose him as a batting all-rounder?
* There is little doubt that Chappell is to Dravid what Dalmiya was to Ganguly for a long time. Given the fact that he is in the team for not just his batting but his bowling abilities too, isn't it possible that Ganguly might be asked to roll his arm over when our frontline bowlers are failing? Batting all-rounder: that phrase jars. It is really very mysterious.
* How will Ganguly get along with Chappell? The exchange between the two was the worst in recent cricketing history. Chappell might choose to forget, because he will be acutely aware that Ganguly is back in the team because of serious pressure. But, after the awful e-mail episode, will Chappell 'allow' Ganguly to be his normal self when he is not out on the field? Indian cricket has had a history of wicked coaches, the best example being Sandeep Patil who had sent Ganguly out to bat after Anil Kumble once. Patil was thrown out. But will Chappell suffer a similar consequence if he chooses to be dogmatic?
* It is good to say that Dravid is the good boy of Indian cricket. But 'is' the good boy so good that he will vacate the post of captaincy without trying to hijack it for as long as possible? Despite Ganguly's currently precarious position, a few good knocks from him in a few Indian losses is what that is required to generate public opinion that Ganguly should be back. People will go back to history; the same lot who are commenting against Ganguly's inclusion.
Dravid has waited for a long time. Today, he has found an ally in Chappell who is Ganguly's enemy. Will he take a chance?
Too many questions, which only time can answer. Meanwhile, all Ganguly must do is go out and deliver. He can because he has.
Sourav Ganguly is back in the team. The fighter in him is trying hard to make an impact as was evident from his performance with the ball against Maharashtra today. A spell of five wickets for 64 runs, including four top order players, from a player under so much stress cannot be a bad performance by any yardstick of judgement. But then that is the way Sourav is. After being dropped from the team, he, instead of sulking away, just went out and hammered a century against North Zone.
India's most successful captain, Sourav gave Steve Waugh's Australians the treatment they deserved. That, to my mind, is the most glorious chapter of his career as a captain. But the questions that need to be answered are many.
* Ganguly is known to be a 'man with the golden arm', but he is basically a batsman who, at his best, can be ruthlessly destructive. So, how did our selection committee choose him as a batting all-rounder?
* There is little doubt that Chappell is to Dravid what Dalmiya was to Ganguly for a long time. Given the fact that he is in the team for not just his batting but his bowling abilities too, isn't it possible that Ganguly might be asked to roll his arm over when our frontline bowlers are failing? Batting all-rounder: that phrase jars. It is really very mysterious.
* How will Ganguly get along with Chappell? The exchange between the two was the worst in recent cricketing history. Chappell might choose to forget, because he will be acutely aware that Ganguly is back in the team because of serious pressure. But, after the awful e-mail episode, will Chappell 'allow' Ganguly to be his normal self when he is not out on the field? Indian cricket has had a history of wicked coaches, the best example being Sandeep Patil who had sent Ganguly out to bat after Anil Kumble once. Patil was thrown out. But will Chappell suffer a similar consequence if he chooses to be dogmatic?
* It is good to say that Dravid is the good boy of Indian cricket. But 'is' the good boy so good that he will vacate the post of captaincy without trying to hijack it for as long as possible? Despite Ganguly's currently precarious position, a few good knocks from him in a few Indian losses is what that is required to generate public opinion that Ganguly should be back. People will go back to history; the same lot who are commenting against Ganguly's inclusion.
Dravid has waited for a long time. Today, he has found an ally in Chappell who is Ganguly's enemy. Will he take a chance?
Too many questions, which only time can answer. Meanwhile, all Ganguly must do is go out and deliver. He can because he has.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)