The most coveted place in Indian sport, the 'cricket captaincy', has devoured another player in Sourav Ganguly.
In the last decade, all the captains have gone through similar dilemma before relinquishing their positions -- be it Srikkanth, Azharuddin or Sachin Tednulkar. The last two had to go through the blues of captaincy twice in their careers.
Today, Ganguly is no exception. The exit of skipper Ganguly might have come in the form of banishment for slow marshaling of resources on the field, but there were already enough problems brewing over his cricket.
The time has come for Ganguly, arguably the best captain India ever had, to look intently and deeply into his own future and reassess his self worth.
For a batsman, at the age of 32, cricket is far from over. Any captain will come under the microscope if the team is having an ordinary run. Under such circumstances, the captain's form would become the major focus of discussion.
An enormous amount of time has to be spent on assessing and analysing his game for a player to return to form. It's natural for the player to go to seniors and experts to share some insights about the problem. At this juncture, it may appear that any amount of discourse, discussion and practice could remain insufficient. The precarious situation in which Ganguly finds himself indicates that pressures of captaincy can lead to erosion of one's own form.
Sachin went through the same phase when the team's poor run affected his performance. The best thing he did was to relinquish the mantle of captaincy and remain focused on his batting. Even if Ganguly was not banned, he still should have stepped down from captaincy to concentrate on his batting. That is no disgrace. In fact, it is a part of a player's evolution process.
Chris Broad's verdict to ban Ganguly for six games seems a bit too harsh. But this time, the match referee must be well prepared with enough testimony to explain his stance. This is not the first time that Ganguly has been pulled up by the match referee. He has decided to go in for an appeal, but the BCCI may find it difficult to prove any mala fide intention in the verdict.
One must admit that, at times, Ganguly can be heavy-footed on the field. Even if the bowlers take a few minutes extra, I think it is the job of the captain to expedite the process on the field. With much pressures and complications Ganguly is not far from a burn-out.
It would be good for Ganguly to take a break for a while and start afresh. A couple of months of county cricket would do the trick for him.
Ifran being out of the side is baffling. I hope our team management has counseled him with a proper reason for his ouster.
Pakistan's run chase at Ahmedabad will give their batting a psychological edge. After putting up a mammoth score, the Indians' idea to choke runs to get wickets backfired. In hindsight, it appears that India was too defensive, but Afridi's onslaught can force any team into a defensive mode.
In the end it was the partnership which took the match away from the Indians. Inzamam was the true match-winner.
With a space created in the batting order, playing five bowlers might help the Indian bowling. Sachin's coming back to form should sway the think-tank to strengthen the bowling department.
Srinath's previous columns:
- The toss is proving decisive
- Declining role of bowlers is worrying
- Dhoni should have been spotted earlier
- Pakistan should reconsider batting order
- India need to contain Afridi
- Instability showing in the Indian team
- Much ado about Bhajji's 'doosra'
- Sachin's partnerships with Rahul were crucial
- Looking for a fifth dimension in bowling
- A story of courageous fighting