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.