The silence of cricketers

By John Cheeran
Does it surprise you that Indian cricketers, the current and former lot, have kept their distance from the simmering Bal Thackeray-Sachin Tendulkar controversy on the great divide between Mumbai and India?
I'm not. Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, who both played their cricket in Bombay and continue to live there, never uttered a word on the Saamna editorial while doing commentary for Neo Cricket in the ongoing three Test series against Sri Lanka.
No player from the current Indian squad came forward to say that though they hail from different regions of the country, for them India comes first and no one should pillory Sachin Tendulkar for saying that "he is an Indian first."
Had this bunch of players were playing for India, and not for the BCCI XI, such a reaction would have been most natural. Nor did the band of former players castigate Thackeray for taking a swipe at Tendulkar. Who are they afraid of?
It is too silly to argue that cricketers are not interested in politics and they should be allowed to remain outside the murky world of politics. All actions are political. From fixing cricket matches to planting stories against a team mate to feigning injuries to playing a cracking cover drive.
Yes, politicians did make some noise about the Thackeray statement. But I'm yet to read a remark from Sharad Pawar, the Maratha chieftain, and union minister for agriculture, who is also the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Pawar, who knows a thing or two about the Marathi Manoos, let his dummy Rajeev Shukla issue a vapid statement.
There is not even a purr from the highly political Sourav Ganguly, who the other day was showering praise on Tendulkar.
So much for the people, who can spot the tricolour fluttering on the shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar, every time he walks out to bat.
Long live India.

Should we blame Asoka de Silva for Mohali defeat?

By John Cheeran
Who defeated India in the fourth one-dayer against Australia in Mohali?
Ricky Ponting or Asoka de Silva?
If Sourav Ganguly is to be believed, Asoka de Silva was the man behind India's 24-run defeat. De Silva's LBW verdict against India's well-set batsman Sachin Tendulkar (40 off 68 balls) was unpardonable, says Ganguly while giving his exclusive thoughts to an Indian television channel.
I thought there were others in the Indian batting lineup who could have met the challenge head on.
Yes, umpire De Silva made a mistake in giving Tendulkar out. But Tendulkar himself has said recently he is not in favour of carrying on with the referral system and umpires should be left with the powers to make LBW decisions. So?
You got to live with such decisions and still make a fight out of it. After all, cricket is a team sport and you cannot bemoan the loss of a wicket beyond a point and get befuddled.
You cannot turn your gaze away from reality. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli all failed to put their head down and chase down a modest target of 250. There was not a single legitimate partnership in the Indian innings. India's top individual score was Tendulkar's 40.
What's coach Gary Kirsten up to?
But, then, nothing is lost if Team India realises its shortcomings, especially the inability of its young batsmen to play shots when wicket offers a bit of bounce.
Any match in Mohali has its own twists and turns, and Australians showed a lot of character to bounce back when it all seemed a lost cause.
Sponsors Hero Honda should be the happiest lot, since the outcome in Mohali keeps the seven-match series alive.

Ganguly and Gun!

From The Australian

SOURAV Ganguly has laid bare the staggeringly selfish nature of Indian cricket by launching a tirade against his team-mates.
Already at the centre of a circus after claiming he will retire at the end of this four-Test series against Australia, the former captain claimed some Indian players changed their hairstyle more often than they made runs.
"I have played 400 matches for India (110 Tests and 311 one-day games). I have played badly in only one series, yet every Tom, Dick and Harry is playing in the team," Ganguly told a local Bengali newspaper.
"There are players who haven't scored in the last three series for India, even for the last one year. There are some who have changed their hairstyle more than they have scored for India."
Ganguly, 36, did not mention his fielding, which was typically dreadful during the second day of the first Test here yesterday.
The tensions his criticisms will create can only be magnified should India do badly in this Test and series, given the pressure on the senior players following a surprise 2-1 Test series loss to Sri Lanka in August.
Captain Anil Kumble, who turns 38 this month, will certainly be feeling it after going to lunch yesterday with figures of 0-103. He has now conceded 100 runs in an innings 56 times, more than any other bowler in Test history.
Ganguly claimed he wanted to continue playing next year.
"Maybe seven more Tests. For that I was not prepared to take any more humiliation," he said.
"I was tired of being humiliated again and again. I don't want to play cricket at the mercy of others."
Ganguly's humiliation stems from being left out of last month's Rest of India side in the Irani Trophy match against reigning Ranji Trophy title-holder Delhi, which was essentially a warm-up match for this Test series.
A fading Ganguly was first dropped by Greg Chappell early in 2006 when the Australian was coach and wanted to renew an ageing team.
Ganguly made a strong return late that year and had played well since, but two of his last three series have been poor, averaging 29 in Australia and, most recently, 16 in Sri Lanka.
"When Greg dropped me, TP Singh (who is now playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League) was my replacement. Where is he now?" Ganguly said.
Ganguly claimed being dropped for the Irani Trophy was worse than being dropped by Chappell.
"I couldn't imagine being dropped for that. That's when I said, 'not again'," he said.
It is only a new selection committee, under former Test batsman Kris Srikkanth, which has revived Ganguly's career.
"I am bound to feel bad. I had to fight with my heart," Ganguly said. "If there is a gun to your head all the time, how long can you bear this?
"I thought a lot before reaching this decision. I have also thought about my plans for the next one year.
"If this (selection) committee had come three years earlier, the situation would have been slightly better for me."

India's brittle batting gives Ponting room for hope

So my fears came true but when Harbhajan Singh did his bhangra at the batting crease, things perked up a little for a beleaguered India.
India lost wickets while looking for quick runs, and except for that bright opening from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the home side was without a master builder.
So no wonder then that the cavalier Singh emerged as the king, not with the ball, but with the bat. The Fab Five must be chastened by the fact that Harbhajan emerged as the top scorer for India with 54. Only a patient half-century from Rahul Dravid came closer at 51. Yes, Sourav Ganguly hung in there, again proving a point that he is still better than many in Indian cricket. It was an innings under pressure again, but when you consider the struggles of Sachin Tendulkar (13) VVS Laxman (0) and MS Dhoni (9) at the crease, you can make your own judgments about the state of Indian batting.
So where is this Test heading?
Australia definitely enjoyed the upper hand when they saw the back of Ganguly at 232/7, but Indian tail or rather Harbhajan has spoiled Ricky Ponting’s push for victory. India is still behind Australia by 117 runs. If Indian spinners fail to tease and torment Aussies in their second innings, the last day of the match could see India caught between victory and defeat while chasing an almost 400 target.
Thus it is all about managing the contradictions. You got to attack but only knowing well where your weaknesses are.
Anil Kumble, going wicket-less in the first innings, has a cross to bear tomorrow both at the batting and bowling creases.

Watchout for the cracks in the wall, cracks in the pitch

By John Cheeran
The intent mattered.
India has taken up the Aussie gauntlet and is now looking to overcome Australian first innings total in the fastest way possible. They should score quickly, and for now, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, have done just that.
More than the mere run rate, after all it is just 18 overs, India’s positive attitude signals that they are here to win the Test and seize the initiative in the series.
In the remaining three days, Anil Kumble has a tough task to accomplish. India is left with not many options, but to bat through day three and day four and let the pitch take care of Ponting and mates on the final day. But cruising at a fast mode would naturally mean that at some stage Indian innings would crack under the contradictions of getting quick runs and keeping wickets intact. That’s the challenge for the Indian batting in this Test.
There is nothing surprising the way Sehwag and Gambhir have begun the Indian riposte. Both are aggressive batsmen by nature.
The wicket still plays true and hard. And down the order you could expect some suicidal brilliance from Sourav Ganguly especially after his “Every Tom Dick and Harry” interview to AajKal on the eve of the match.
It was no wonder that Ganguly, again, cut a lonely figure on the field. He was the last one to join the huddle when a wicket fell; he was the last one to troop out when the team took the field.
But given Ganguly’s Fuck You All attitude, it might trigger another blazing innings from the man, though his form has not been the best in the recent past.
Whatever, expect quite a few twists and turns in the next three days.

Playing in India, not playing for India, matters for Ganguly

By John Cheeran
Sourav Ganguly is out of the Rest of India squad, and vast sections of India are discussing the injustice done against the Bengali icon and one of India’s prominent batsmen since 1996.
Australians are coming.
So an omission from the Rest of India squad could be interpreted as an end of the road signal. The omission would not have mattered much if not for Ganguly’s exasperating form during the Sri Lankan Test tour. Always considered as a good one-day batsman, Ganguly was left out of the Indian one-day team that defeated Sri Lanka immediately after the follies of Tests. That should have rung alarm bells for worshippers of Ganguly.
Any discussion about Ganguly will not be complete without pointing towards former Indian captain Rahul Dravid.
The selection committee, led by former Test cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, had cast aside Dravid long ago from the one-day excursions.
Dravid, the quintessential Test batsman, survives the axe mainly thanks to a few gritty innings that he played on the Sri Lankan tour. Willingness to fight it out in the middle was there in quite contrast to the belligerent escapism that Ganguly brought to the batting crease. Now it may be ironic that Ganguly has been told to pack his bags after his most successful season as a Test batsman (does anyone remember the double century he scored against an harried Pakistan) in international cricket.
Reports say that coach Gary Kirsten and Test team skipper Anil Kumble did not bat for Ganguly when selectors sat together to finalise the squad.
How they could have?
Dravid, despite his low key performance in recent times, has been performing a crucial role for India batting at the critical slot of No.3. In terms of sheer utility value Ganguly is no match for Dravid. And Ganguly never cared for his fielding.
Ganguly knows by experience that silence is golden.
Why react when others are dusting up his obituary.
What if the Rest of India falters against the Australian attack? That will open the doors of Indian team to him again. Just sit at the boundary.
And even of you are not playing for India does it matter any more in the age of Indian Premier League?
Playing in India is what matters now you have Kolkata Knight Riders to dream of. IPL must be figuring prominently in Ganguly’s thoughts and that must be delaying an official declaration of the end.

Indian cricket's misery continues in Sri Lanka

By John Cheeran
At some point in this five-match one-day series, I’m sure, India will find its way and overcome the Sri Lankan challenge. But to make a real fight of it, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men should win the second encounter slated for Wednesday.
It is not just the decline of Fabulous Four that plagues Indian batting. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are out of the one-day side. Now Virender Sehwag has twisted his ankle to add to India’s woes.
This should have been a wonderful opportunity for the Generation Next in Indian batting. But so far big knocks, innings that set the scoreboard burning, have not come from the bats of Rohit Sharmas, Virat Kohli and for that matter even from Suresh Raina, that young boy who has been scratching around the crease for quite a while.
None should blame the BCCI for not getting his chances. Yuvraj Singh is back. But he struggled as much as the Fab Four struggled against spinners Muttaiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.
Dhoni is back from his luxurious break. He cannot now complain of the hectic schedule. There are no back-to-back matches in the current series against Sri Lanka. It’s time he put a stop to India’s slide against Lankans.
Well, one could take refuge in the fact that this series is just another string of one-dayers. More matches will come our way. But alarmingly the series – both Test and one-dayers -- have brought out the inadequacies of Indian cricket to the sunlight.
India needs performers, consistent performers to slay the opposition.

India's Test series loss in Sri Lanka: Looking for reasons

By John Cheeran
It is very difficult to get excited over a Test series against Sri Lanka, though they are former world champions much like us.
Sri Lanka is one of the strongest cricket sides and with the introduction of freak spin bowler Ajantha Mendis, the island nation has strengthened its bowling.
Still none had foreseen India’s plight in Lanka. India lost the Test series 1-2 and reason for the defeat is quite apparent this time. Indian middle order batting collapsed against quality spin attack of Mendis and Muttaih Muralitharan.
Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have served Indian cricket with distinction but the reality is that they are struggling to live up to their past glory. Even VVS Laxman follows a similar trajectory, though a shade better.
Indians are traditionally known to tackle spin better. But Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly fell cheaply without fully comprehending the bewildering variety of balls sent down by Mendis.
While agreeing with skipper Anil Kumble that middle order’s failure to play long innings was the reason for Test series loss, it has to be said that any nation aspiring for greatness and dominance should constantly able to throw up young talent. How come the BCCI not able to dig out gems such as a Mendis? What happened to our own big hope Piyush Chawla?
It must be pointed out that Indian cricket never sheds its enigmatic ways. For long Indian team’s bane was poor start at the top of their innings. It was said that Indian middle order always had to struggle to resuscitate the innings as the openers go so early. In Sri Lanka, openers – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir – gave the side roaring starts but, alas, the middle was shell shocked by a Lankan army boy.

A man called Virender Sehwag

By John Cheeran
There goes a man by the name of Virender Sehwag in India. He can bat, they say.
Sehwag has asked some fundamental questions regarding batsmanship as few others have not done in modern cricket. May be another name could be Sanath Jayasuriya.
Sehwag has delighted millions by his boisterous batting but more often than not he also has confounded critics by his seemingly wanton ways at the wicket.
But the point is that in terms of sheer impact, Sehwag has played some defining knocks in world cricket, and may be among his contemporaries only VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid have entered that league.
Sehwag's unbeaten 201 off 211 balls in India's first innings total of 329 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at Galle is simply a mind boggling effort. It is not just talent alone that Sehwag brings to the crease. He of course has a game plan, but he prefers not to discuss it with us commentators and critics.
The basic nature of Virender Sehwag's batting has not changed since he began to play for India as a lower middle order bat in mid 90s. Sehwag leaves his cricket pretty uncomplicated and his fearless attitude towards rival bowlers as well as to the whole process of playing cricket has helped him achieve what more feted and seasoned batsmen have not so far. Sehwag plays fast, scores big and that alone has contributed a great deal towards Indian cricket's resurgence in the 2000s.
Yes, Sehwag is the only Indian batsman who has two triple centuries to his credit, a feat only Donald Bradmana and Brian Lara has achieved.
Nothing succeeds like success.
Now that Sehwag has overcome a mid career crisis that emboldened chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar almost push him out of the 2007 World Cup squad, we can be unstinted in his praise. Sehwag knows little of traditions and goes about scoring runs in his own way, often infuriating watchers, as he did in the second innings of the Colombo Test, but he has a way of pleasing his own gods. Nothing else can explain the commanding way Sehwag handled the freak spin duo of Muttaiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in Galle. Just consider the fact the trinity - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly -- could not together score 10 runs in the first innings puts Sehwag's unconquered innings in perspective.
May be gambling is also a science, and living life in its many splendoured varieties takes a lot from a man.
Attacking approach, the Twenty20 approach to life, is not all that bad when you are looking at the scoreboard in Galle and marvel at Sehwag's Hanumanesque effort in Lanka.

Kumble's googly clean bowls Vengsarkar

By John Cheeran
Anil Kumble, India’s Test captain, has invited the ire of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for letting the ‘classified information’ regarding a selection committee meeting.
The man upset by Kumble interview is Dilip Vengsarkar. For Kumble vetoed Vengsarkar’s idea of burdening Rahul Dravid with the role of second wicketkeeper during the forthcoming tour to Sri Lanka.
It is pretty much evident that Vengsarkar has an axe to grind with Dravid. Chairman of national selectors finds Dravid not good enough for one-dayers, but at the same time, he thinks Dravid should be burdened with wicket keeping duties, a legacy of the self serving interests of former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.
But Kumble is no Ganguly. Kumble and Dravid, of course, are friends. They are from Bangalore. But that’s not the point. Kumble knows how to stand up for someone who has served Indian cricket with dignity and unmatched integrity.
I’m quite happy that not only did Kumble outsmart Vengsarkar in the selection committee meeting, but the Indian captain let the world know what sorts of manipulative forces are in action in Indian cricket by giving an interview to a Mumbai-based tabloid.
Anil’s Googly had Colonel clean bowled.
Here are Kumble’s comments to Mumbai Mirror that exposed Vengsarkar.
“I insisted on the second wicketkeeper because there was a view among some of the selectors that we could do with one specialist.

As captain I am aware that there could be problems if the specialist were to pull a muscle or have a runny stomach on the morning of a Test. There was a suggestion that Rahul (Dravid) be the second wicketkeeper, but I persuaded the committee to view things from Indian cricket’s point of view and advantage.

I contended there was nothing wrong in taking the additional specialist wicketkeeper. I know Rahul would not like to be saddled with such a responsibility.

He has enough as a batsman and does not want a repeat of his wicketkeeping experiences in ODIs. On Dhoni’s withdrawal I have nothing to say as it is a personal decision. He knows his mind and body.”

BCCI's PR Coup: It's Dhoni's Choice to Stay Away

By John Cheeran
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it seems, has dramatically improved its Public Relations (PR) and it showed when it handled the vacation for its one-day skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Before the selection committee got together to pick the side, Ratnakar Shetty, one of the BCCI officials, has said that Dhoni himself has pulled out of the Test series in Sri Lanka. That makes the life easier for chairman of selection committee while explaining his picks later in the day to the Indian media.
Whatever the spin, whether Dhoni pulls out of the race for runs and dollars, or the BCCI taking the youngster’s reasoning to its logical conclusion, the fact remains that the cricket showbiz will go on waiting for none in the process. Dhoni and Pepsi, his principal sponsors, will have to accept this and take it easy.
But sport, and cricket, is a strange beast, as much as life is. Some of the vacations of athletes are not a choice, but inevitable. Ask the soldiers of cricket, the fast bowlers. In professional sport, injuries can happen at any moment, and you cannot do anything about it.
There is always a life outside of cricket too.
Dhoni has a right to think beyond the boundaries but such a decision is always fraught with the danger of being ignored too soon by the madding crowd and the manipulators in the boardroom.
One should, however, note that Dhoni has contributed a great deal in writing a new chapter in Indian cricket history. It is for the first time a leading, unhurt Indian cricketer stays away from the circus, and if we can believe Dhoni, of his own choice.
Sourav Ganguly was dropped.
Rahul Dravid was dropped.
Even Kapil Dev and Lala Amarnath were dropped.
All of them were fit and eager to play when they were ignored by the Indian board.
I wish the luck stays on with Dhoni. May be like Samson, Dhoni should grow his hair back to recover his energy.
Mind it!

Men in White; Men in Black

By John Cheeran
I enjoyed reading Mukul Kesavan’s Men in White, a book of essays. It took me almost a year to get hold of the book and then last month, I read through it.
Being an irregular reader of Kesavan’s columns’ at The Telegraph, Calcutta, these offering was far from satisfying. I did not understand the hype regarding a book which is essentially a compilation. In fact to sell his book, Kesavn wrote a blog with the same name at www.cricinfo.com and after the publication of the book he stopped it.
And unfortunately when I was in Delhi in April, an acquaintance’s blog watch column in a tabloid, bemoaned the end of the blog! It is indeed good to have such friends.
I, however, want to salute Kesavan for coming up with some bold statements regarding the nature of cricket journalism in India.
Kesavan rightly points out how cricket journalists in India, and that includes former cricketers-turned-writers, fail to look facts at their faces.
And this opinion too one has read before at Wisden Asia cricket magazine. Kesavan writes that even guys such as Sanjay Manjrekar puts Barry Richards, who played only FOUR Tests, much higher in order when they make a list of batting greats, and ignores someone like Sunil Gavaskar, who was the backbone of Indian batting close to two decades. And Manjrekar at least should have watched Gavaskar in action many times over, being a Mumbai-based cricketer.
Kesavan rightly attacks the servile attitude of Indians for blindly holding onto the indexes supplied by the white cricket establishment. And immediately he refers to Graeme Hick, and how the player was exposed in the international arena for what he is worth. He would have been another Barry but for playing for England and coming a cropper.

It is observations such as these that make Kesavan’s writing a pleasure to read. But as Kesavan accuses some of the leader writers of English newspapers, who had an uncharitable view on Sourav Ganguly, as being failed intellectuals, Kesavan himself can be classified as a failed novelist. And a failed novelist is any day better than an average Indian cricket journalist.

Kesavan quotes Christopher Isherwood of having said that he occupies the front of the second grade novelists, an admission of reality, I have a feeling that same can be said of our history teacher at Jamia Milia in Delhi.

How many average Indian cricket journalists have had the educational and family background that Kesavan has enjoyed? But that Kesavan is an elitist should not take away from the worth of his arguments.
And Kesavan comes across as someone who is irreverent when he berates AFS Talyarkhan, a highly rated sports journalist and commentator based in Mumbai, as an old windbag. I have read only a few columns Talyarkhan wrote for Sportsweek in the fag end of 80s. I haven’t listened to more than a couple of AFS T’s broadcasts. So I can’t make judgment on them. I’m sure Kesavan is correct in his criticism of AFST. But what’s the point of pointing finger at someone who is dead and buried in this case?
Can Kesavan criticize today’s windbags?
How does he rate Arun Lals, Harsha Bhogles?
Would he dare to criticize anyone of these jokers?

India's Dwaitham: Cricket and Beyond

By John Cheeran
There are two Indias.
Political pundits have often stressed this point, an India of the urban middle class and another of toiling masses on shop floors and farm fields. It is always a sobering thought that there is a Nigeria within India. Now another sobering thought. There are two Indian cricket teams to mirror the nation’s unique Dwaitham.
The BCCI has finally yielded itself to the idea of having separate teams for one-dayers and Tests. Well, with the move to name Mahendra Singh Dhoni the captain for the Twenty20 World Cup such intentions were clear.
Now keeping Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble from the one-day squad for the triangular series in Australia, that division is complete.
Only Sachin Tendulkar has escaped the stigma of being senile.
Well, I have been a strong believer in the Greg Chappell’s philosophy of young minds and younger feet, but the national selection committee has made its progressive cut and thrust at a wrong turn.
Form too counts in choosing an XI. To take out Dravid and VVS Laxman from the vanguard of Indian batting just when they had drilled gaping holes in the Aussie armoury of arrogance and accurate pace bowling amounts waving the white flag at our formidable rivals.
And after his repeated failures in four Test innings on the current tour what’s the point of keeping Yuvraj Singh in the squad, leave alone retaining as the vice-captain of the side.
Unflinching faith, you might say. Meanwhile MS Dhoni too had a patchy tour so far. No doubt the skirmishes against two of the finest one-day sides – Sri Lanka and Australia – will help us to find out whether all that glitters (hitters) is gold.
India’s one-day squad for the triangular against Australia and Sri Lanka:
MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, S Shreesanth, RP Singh Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Pravin Kumar.

Ganguly's double century in Bangalore: All about evolution!

By John Cheeran
Yes, it is tough to swallow one’s pride, tougher still to admit defeat when your well stated position is proved wrong by your pet hate.
Sourav Ganguly has proved his critics, including me, wrong with his well-crafted double century in the third and final Test against Pakistan in Bangalore.
When facts change, I change my opinion. Sir,what do you do?
Ganguly has reinvented himself not just as a batsman but as a man too. Not only he chooses his shots carefully, he pause and prod while he chooses his words too.
His comeback has been splendid and this home series against Pakistan has been significant in terms of the number of runs the Bengal left-hander has scored. In the autumn of his career Ganguly has dug deep to carve out his first Test double century. Earlier Ganguly scored his first Test century in front of the partisan crowd at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Till this series unfolded, I had doubted whether Ganguly has it in to score a century in one-dayers, leave alone in Tests.
None can deny that Ganguly has batted without care, except when he scented the century on Saturday. Ganguly’s and Yuvraj Singh’s tons came when India was gasping for breath, after losing Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Dravid and VVS Laxman, well below the 100 mark on the scoreboard.
But the pitch at the Chinnaswamy Stadium held no terrors after the morning meltdown and a dispirited Pakistan attack (Shoaib Ahtar lying in hospital) will help to put batsmen’s achievements in perspective.
Has the change in Indian captaincy has contributed to Ganguly’s refulgent batting? It has to be noted that Ganguly’s ascent has been marked by the decline in the lofty standards of Rahul Dravid.
A century in front of his friends and family, a double century at the home ground of his biggest rival in life. Ganguly, in his third coming, has surprised himself the most and surpassed a few boundaries in the process.
Certainly, the trip the chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar made to Bangalore has been worth it.

Ganguly's grit tells a story

By John Cheeran
Having heaped scorn Sourav Ganguly, I should recognize and admire his gritty efforts with the Indian cricket team on his comeback trail.
A set of factors paved the way for Ganguly’s comeback. I will not discuss those now. What’s important is that Ganguly, when faced with challenging situations has performed for the team, overcoming his limitations. With huge slice of luck and an equal dose of pluck Ganguly has come up a string of half-centuries and that last one was at Leeds against England in the one-day series.
I must grant that Ganguly has a sense of occasion. Playing in his 300th ODI, Ganguly scored runs (59) and took two wickets that helped India beat England by 38 runs to cut their rivals lead to 3-2.
Let me quote India’s leader Rahul Dravid on Ganguly. “ Playing 300 matches is not as important as performance. He has performed for more than a decade – that is really a big thing.”
Anyway, you have been picked to perform only.
In Ganguly’s case, in the past, many had overlooked that aspect and had treated him as a talisman. Tragedy was that Ganguly himself believed in that fiction.It gladdens me and the rest of the Indian cricket fans that Ganguly has seen the light, or to be more precise, the twilight.
But it also saddens me that Ganguly has not improved an inch from an embarrassing fielder. One cannot overlook that Ganguly dropped Ian Bell in the slips off the first ball the English batsman faced at Leeds.
That’s a measure of the commitment and attitude of an average Indian cricketer.

Ganguly's attitude comes under scanner

Editor's note: This report first appeared in indiatimes.com
NEW DELHI, April 3:
The post mortem of India's World Cup debacle is a fire that refuses to blow over. Team India truly never had it so bad - divided between the prima donnas and the youngsters who didn't know which way the wind blew, the unhappiness in the Indian dressing room was probably the perfect recipe for disaster.
And now, soon after the revelations of team coach Greg Chappell on the strong divide within the Indian team between the senior players who rule the roost and the youngsters who are mere pawns come new shocking revelations from a member of the team management to Times Now - about the senior players.
The revelations come in the form of another report, also from the team management that will be presented along with Chappell's report on April 6 to the BCCI. Sources within the team management have told Times Now this report too focuses on the senior players in the team.
Sources close to Sanjay Jagdale who will present the report, say the report speaks of how some senior players defied the pre-decided team strategy and went on to the field to play individual innings, throwing off-gear the entire game plan. "Ganguly not following team strategy" Amongst the tainted, is comeback man Sourav Ganguly. This might sound shocking for a batsman who on the face of it has averaged 68 in his last ten games and hit 2 half centuries in the World Cup games.
But a closer look at his innings, sources say, reveals that his game was against the overall team strategy. In the game against Bangladesh, although the pitch was conducive for batting, Ganguly played a very slow innings and struggled against the left-arm spinners - the very bowlers he was supposed to take on as per the team strategy. Surprisingly in the game against Bermuda his strike rate at the end of the 10th over was 52, whereas much-maligned Virender Sehwag had a strike rate of over 100.
This continued in the next 10-over period, till Captain Dravid sent out a stern message from the dressing room to accelerate the run rate. In the end Sourav Ganguly’s innings was littered with 70 dot-balls.
The perception is the Ganguly was too keen on getting his hundred - to the detriment of the team’s performance. Against the Lankans, the supposedly in-form Sourav he stood exposed to left-arm seamers even as Sehwag was scoring freely in his short innings of 48.
Sachin's attitude a problem? In fact the team member adds that even Sachin Tendulkar's strained relationship with Chappell ever since the South African tour when the little master averaged a paltry 23 in four One-dayers, was hurting team.
The source has also told Times Now that Chappell also believed the master blaster's repeated failure was hurting the team's chances. "The senior players just have to understand that they are playing for the country and not for their personal glory," said the source. The source tells Times Now that Chappell also had differences with Sachin regarding his batting position - Sachin was keen to open the innings with Sourav, but Greg Chappell wanted him to bat lower down the order.
And when the team management decided to bring him lower in the order, it irked Sachin no end. And that is not all - what further rubbed the coach the wrong way was the constant meddling with the batting order just to please the senior players. Team not fit enough Add to that, the poor fitness of senior team members - two frontline pacers and three top order batsmen - haunted the team's performance.
All in all it was hardly a fit squad for an event like the World Cup and explains why this team is cooling its heels at home.
Now the pressure is clearly on the BCCI bosses to pull Indian cricket out of the mire Meanwhile with so many leaks around, coach Greg Chappell who presents his most debated report to the BCCI panel this Friday, is expected to shy away from taking names. After all, the fear of Greg Chappell and leaks is not new one.

Can the Maharaja become a praja?

By John Cheeran
Can the Maharaja become a praja?
Sourav Ganguly has scored a point against his detractors in the Duleep Trophy tie against North Zone. The deposed Indian skipper hit a century to signal that he is in form as a batsman. And to buttress his claims for his place in the Indian squad, he led East Zone to a convincing win.
Certainly Ganguly is not down and out. Getting runs in domestic cricket and succeeding in international cricket are two different activities. Ganguly knows it. He has a quite a record in international cricket. The point is whether Ganguly still will be able to bat with authority against quality bowling in global realm.
His hit and miss tactics might come off, depending on the stage of the game and authenticity of attack. Selectors will be only doing their duty if they bring back Ganguly into one-day team. But is Ganguly prepared to take orders from Rahul Dravid?
Will he be expecting to pick and choose his slot in the Indian batting order? Is the Maharaja ready to be a praja in the empire of Indian cricket?
By keeping Ganguly in the side, selectors will be undermining Dravid, the skipper.
Ganguly has been lucky as captain of India. And his luck was in the form of Rahul Dravid and not Jagmohan Dalmiya.
Any other successful cricketer, apart from Dravid, would have told Ganguly to fuck off from the dressing room, a long time ago. Dravid has kept his place in the side because he gave his 100 per cent everytime. Attempts were made to deny Dravid his rightful place in the one-day squad, finding fault with his mode of run gathering, when others were scratching around the crease.
I recently heard a joke. Ganguly helped Dravid find a stable one-day slot making him the wicketkeeper. Anyone, other than David, would have refused to keep wickets when he is in the team as a specialist batsman. None has accommodated an Indian captain’s wishes as Dravid has done. The fault for this squarely remains with Dravid. What would have Ganguly done, had Dravid refused to keep wickets? Axed him?
To tell people to fuck off when they need to be, is a great attribute. I wish Dravid quickly develop this quality. When you are among a bunch of knee-jerked, rapacious youngsters, there is no point in being a gentleman.
Rahul Dravid, be a gentleman only at home. Be ruthless and truth less when you are in the Indian cricket team. More so, when you are the leader.