An 'All-For-Nothing' uproar

I don’t really understand the brouhaha over Ganguly's exclusion from the Indian team. Now, that the politicians across the spectrum too have jumped into it, the circus is getting way too funny. I simply don't get it. Just bcos he scored 40 runs apiece in his last 2 innings, do they think that will guarantee a place in the team for the 3rd test. How come they don't realize the fact that he is competing for a spot in the middle order with Yuvraj who clearly outshone him in the just concluded Kotla test. With Sehwag coming back from injury, the natural question arises - where do you fit this guy in? That is the one question to ask all those who are protesting against his exclusion - Who will they drop from the XI if they want to include Ganguly? Let them first answer that question.

For once, I could not agree more with the reasoning of the selectors - they did not select Ganguly bcos of the reason that they felt it would be too dishonorable for him to be selected in the 14 and then not actually making it to the XI. There is no way Chappell and Dravid are going to let emotions take precedence by selecting Ganguly for the middle-order slot over folks like Yuvraj and Kaif. We are in fact wasting a precious test talent like Kaif who IMO is probably better than Yuvraj when it comes to test cricket. He has the all-important temperament which is crucial in test cricket and something which Yuvraj does not have in good measure. Kaif is going to be one of the batting mainstays of the Indian team for years to come (future captain may be) and he should be given as many chances as possible. The other complaint I am reading is that you can not replace a middle-order batsman with an opener. That’s very true. But the reason they brought in an opener is bcos Gambhir has done nothing as an opener and by bringing in Wasim Jaffer, they are merely testing the bench strength of our openers & also at the same time making Gambhir aware of the fact that they are seriously considering replacing him. They did not bring in a middle-order batsman bcos of the obvious reason - we do not have any open slot in the middle-order and even if one falls vacant, there is always Mr. Kaif to fill that up. This article here in Cricinfo analyses the selector's decision in the right perspective and so when I read it, it made perfect sense.

The other note all those ex-cricketers & Ganguly supporters are singing is the fact that he should have been given a more honorable exit from the game than what was given to him. In my opinion, I feel we have already given him enough chances to make an honorable exit. He should have realized the moment he was stripped of the captaincy that his days as a test cricketer are numbered and should have taken the way traveled by Sachin before (announcing before the 2000 home series against the Proteas that he will be stepping down as captain at the end of the series) and announced to the whole world that he will retire from test cricket after the Sri Lankan series. In such a scenario, I am sure the selectors would not have taken this decision of dropping him. They could have easily included him in the squad for the whole test series and it would have been entirely in his hands to have accorded himself an honorable exit by scoring some runs in his final test. And what better series than the current SL series to give him that opportunity...

But instead, look at what's shaping up now - seems like behind-the-scene arrangements are underway to include him in the Indian squad for the Pakistan tour and also let the world know of the fact that it will be his last series as a player & that he will not be selected after that series, no matter how many runs he scores in that series. That is just bull-shit according to me. We have to field our best team possible in such a crucial series against our arch rival, who themselves are on cloud nine after a comprehensive win over the Englishmen. I mean, we just can't afford the luxury of playing a batsman who is completely short of form & confidence against an opposition that is on fire under a shrewd coach & a captain in the best form of his career & all this in their own backyard. Sri Lanka at home is such a benign series (the worst result that India can conjure up at home against SL at home would be a draw) and that is the main reason why I believe that this current series was a very ideal one to give Ganguly an opportunity to make an honorable exit.

You know what else is funny? Ganguly supporters crying out loud about how he has been meted an unfair treatment inspite of him scoring some decent runs in the last test. Are you kidding me? I could come up with a really long list of players (Sadagoppan Ramesh & Balaji's names comes to my mind instantly) who were given a raw deal just because of the sole reason that Ganguly 'believed' in his boys (Sehwag, Parthiv Patel, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra) & he wanted to nurture them. As they say, As you sow, so shall you reap and life has come a full circle for Ganguly who is at the wrong end of the same kind of treatment he has been meting out to so much folks during his tenure as Indian captain. Just bcos he had 2 moderate scores of 40, he does not deserve a place in the XI. If he had outscored his direct competitor (Yuvraj) in the 2nd innings and carried the Indian innings, then it would have been a different story altogether & he would have been automatic selection for the 3rd test (the papers would probably have been shouting "The Bengal Tiger has roars again"). He did not do it and hence has to endure this humiliation.

So, lets all just get over it and move on. Let not a single tear be shed, for he thoroughly deserves this and something he brought upon himself. There are 2 exciting series on the horizon against probably the 2 hottest teams in world cricket right now and we definitely do not need this big distraction at this stage. Instead, there is something else to cheer about - the man who has just conquered the Final Frontier is slowly but surely getting back to the form and mindset of his hey days. (This article here is a real tribute to the genius the man is. Do check it out)