RETURN OF SOURAV

BY BISWADEEP GHOSH

Most in the media have problems with Sourav Ganguly. The very attitude that enabled him to build a cohesive unit out of a bunch of individuals – aggression should be his middle name, not Chandidas – has made him the media’s favourite whipping boy. Arrogant, presumptuous, egoistic: these are the adjectives senior cricket journalists use while talking about Sourav in personal conversations. But when they write for the print media, they seek refuge in what is politically correct, which is say stuff like he cannot play the short delivery or that he has been woefully out of form of late.

But now, Ganguly is back to where he belonged, which is as the captain of the squad he had led so successfully. I am sure his critics must be raving and ranting by now, snubbed as they might have been by a guy who knows how to steer the ship of a team but doesn’t give a damn to unfriendly press. Ganguly has built a team that the selectors know and value. The guy, in other words, commands the respect of his team which no other Indian player does: or can.

Besides, when Dravid got an opportunity to make a mark in Sri Lanka in Ganguly’s absence, he came across as a silent, aloof sort who was barely visible on the field. The Yuvrajs and Sehwags and Harbhajans whom Ganguly had identified and backed so well ‘need’ a flamboyant skipper to start with. This, they are used to when Ganguly is around. They don’t mind getting rubbished by the guy even if he himself might not have played well because of an innate confidence stemming from their awareness that Ganguly knows how gifted they are, and that he will support them when the chips are down. History explains why they think so.

Now that he is back as the captain, we will see a bunch of individuals play as Team India again. As for the argument that John Wright had said that he would continue to coach the Indian team if Ganguly stepped down, the fact remains that it was the latter who led the team on the field, not Wright. As for the theory that he cannot play the short ball, while it is true that he is vulnerable to such deliveries like most Indians, he has been able to score 10,000 plus runs in one-dayers at a slightly slower pace than Sachin Tendulkar. As for the affirmation that Dravid has a stable head on his shoulders but Ganguly is moody and tempestuous and god-knows-what-else, nobody needs to take it seriously as long as Ganguly continues to deliver. Remember he is the most successful captain India has ever had?