Ranatunga has Indian media in a spin

By John Cheeran
I'm not surprised at former Sri Lankan skipper Arjuna Ranatunga batting for an out-of-form Sourav Ganguly. Ranatunga has been supporting former Indian captain for reasons best known to him for the last couple of years.
What has surprised me is this -- why do Indian media -- newspapers, television channels, websites, magazines -- treat the opinion of such a biased individual as the most important item of the day.
I was shocked to see Ranatunga's abuse distributed through Press Trust of India becoming the lead in the main sports page of Hindustan Time's Delhi edition on November 15, 2005.
All of them - Times of India had limited the trumpeting to single column in Mumbai – had allowed Ranatunga to highjack the debate on Indian cricket. Support for Ganguly coming from Ranatunga?
Why do our celebrated sports writers go on vacation and let the likes of Ranatunga hold the reader to ransom? Who is ghost writing for Ranatunga?
When not a single former Indian cricketer -- except Sambaran Banerjee, a former national selector from East Zone -- did not find fault with Kiran More-led current selection committee, this gentleman from the island nation is allowed to pour scorn on the way India play and plan its cricket?
Can't some of Indian sports journalism's best minds can't see through this worst spin?Throughout the Ganguly In, Ganguly Out debate I have come across opinions from such greats MAK Pataudi, himself former editor of Sportsworld, Bishan Singh Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, Mohinder Amarnath, Syed Kirmani, Anshuman Gaekwad, Madan Lal and Chandu Borde.
They all were unanimous in their opinion that Ganguly did not deserve a place in the Indian side in the current scheme of things.
Even Salim Durrani, a self-proclaimed Ganguly fan, agreed with the situation. Now lo, behold, comes Ranatunga, who had identified Ganguly as the best captain in the world, singing Ganguly's trumpet.
Who is Ranatunga to deride Indian cricket officials? He had indulged in enough politics in an attempt to share the spoils of Sri Lankan cricket control Board. Let me quote from Ranatunga's wisdom which has appeared in HT, Indian Express Times of India, Asian Age, etc.
"His (Ganguly's) exclusion and the manner of it is unbecoming on the part of Indian cricket officialdom. I wonder if he has received any phone call from selectors, captain or coach; or even seniors like Tendulkars and Sehwags. It is one thing to believe that he does not have anything to offer, it is quite another to act as if he was just an illusion all these years. “Wish as anyone might, nobody can take away his record or the esteem in which he is held worldwide. India must learn to respect its heroes lest they look like pirates who can only destroy a legacy."
Who are the pirates?
Why should a known Ganguly-backer's opinion, which goes against Indian cricket's larger interest, deserve such loud, uncritical space in Indian media?
I’m sure you have the answers.