Sourav Chandidas Ganguly : Indian Victory

Dada walked off the field at Nagpur today with his head held high after India's comprehensive victory against Australia. It is so appropriate that Dada decided to call curtains after this Aussie tour and more fitting so because of the victory. Sourav will be ever remembered by how challenging he was as a captain and how shrewd he was - all owing to India's historic wins against the toughest opponent by far - the Australia of Steve Waugh.

If not for Sourav The Brave, our cricket would have been still looking for reasons to explain why it failed overseas.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have learnt how to face up to intimidation and return the favour.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would still be groping in darkness of politics.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have know how to charge ahead fearlessly.
If not for Sourav The Brave, Indian cricket would not have known what strength of leadership is.
If not for Sourav the Brave, Indian cricket would not have become the formidable force that it is now.

Dada's greatest contribution as every one will agree, is as a captain of Indian cricket team. Azhar got gobbled in match fixing controversy, Tendulkar in spite being individually great wasn't able to handle the pressure. Then came along Sourav. Dada not only led the team without showing pressure, he lead the team in to frontiers never before explored by Indian cricket & the team won where they never have done so before.

Indian cricket has seen many brave and valiant cricketer's, Sunil Gavaskar's bravery in facing West Indian pace attack was great. Kapil Dev's exploits at 1983 world cup were a legend in themselves. Dada is different from them - Dada not only did great things, but the team under him did great things. Yes, he had a great team in Sachin, Anil, Laxman, Dravid and Bajji, but it is very true to say that without Sourav's captaincy, we could have seen great feat's, not great victories.

Sourav's magical batting almost fades away before his captaincy. Who of us can recall who the King of the Offside is? What divine timing? What effortless execution? What astonishing placement? He is the fourth highest run getter in history of Indian cricket.

Still Sourav will live on in Indian cricket memory as the greatest of captains ever to lead Indian cricket team. That is what he has contributed to Indian cricket. Many of the current star's can recall proudly that it was Sourav who backed them in earlier stages of their careers. Sourav showed the world that Indian's are not minnows, importantly still, Sourav showed it to Indian's themselves.It is almost unnecessary to state the win-loss stat's of Sourav as a captain, the impact of his captaincy resonates after he was stripped of it and will keep resonating long after his retirement.

Still, its a pleasure to look at the numbers -49-21-13-15 (captained-won-lost-draw) for his test captaincy. Exceeding all other Indian captains by far, Sourav's numbers reflect his mettle as a captain.

Anil retired and I will recall his great feats whenever another leggie does something magical for India. Sourav retired and I will remember him every time India wins - especially overseas.

That's what Sourav Chandidas Ganguly means to me : an Indian Victory.

Sachin's 12000 and Fab 5

Sachin is now the highest run getter in test cricket and has passed a milestone which no one has so far done. He went past 12000 runs in test cricket today at Mohali playing Australia in the 2nd test of 2008 Border-Gavaskar trophy.

To say in his own words "Success is a process... During that journey sometimes there are stones thrown at you, and you convert them into milestones." This comment portrays how much injustice is being meted out to our seniors who have carried the weight out our aspirations with aplomb for so long. Be it Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Anil or Laxman; our media has mercilessly targeted each set back they suffered in past 5 years and tried to virtually put an end to their careers. Well I understand that media doesn't hold a grudge against these greats; but they have targeted these fabulous five of Indian cricket for want of sensationalism. This in addition to the cricket politics would have been enough to keep any other player from fighting back as the fab-5 are doing. It is no wonder that media are so eager to act as scavengers (that being part of their trade) but the way the things are going about I would say the public is also to be blamed.

We Indian's often idolise fame and hero worship the famous. That is not a ideal thing to do. But here we are hacking away at any semblance of peace the fab-5 are entitled to enjoy in the evening of their careers. They do realize that they will have to call it a day in a year or three and none better than they realize that they need to be responsible. The fab-5 did not raise to fame and then succumb to it; in fact they have handled fame with much humility than is possible by many of our ex-cricketer's or even many of the youngsters around. It is quite evident that the fab-5 are playing test cricket as well as any other youngster "might" have played and in fact they are playing it better.

For a seasoned campaigner, a occasional set back is normal. We are just over reacting to set backs of these greatest of the greats of Indian cricket as we haven't seen many set back from them before. What Anil said is perfectly true: the fab-5 should retire on their own terms and not on others. The reason is not just that they have earned it but that they still are the best India has on offer. Sometimes putting faith in a persons sense of responsibility and believing their judgement is not just respecting them but also the correct thing to do.

If we can't trust that these icons of Indian cricket won't be responsible enough to with draw when they should, then who or what can you believe in Indian cricket?

Tail thunders! - Retain Fab-4!

While half the top order of India did not put up a fight, the tail is showing some spirit. Most annoying was how Tendulkar, Laxman and Dhoni got out. Tendulkar and Laxman just followed the script Aussies wrote for them; wonder even if the "director" Ponting would have hoped for such a "Oscar worthy" performance! In fact the person who is being forced to play his last series was the best Indian batsman today; in spite of a nosebleed Ganguly played within himself and ultimately got out LBW to a faulty decision for 47. His innings almost had no bad shots. So again the question - does Sourav deserve this treatment? India's bravest and most successful captain by far, a fighter to the core. Sourav's fall can never be India's gain.

Dravid also is getting back to his old self. If a single tour is a fate decider for the seniors then will rest of the fab-4 receive same treatment as Ganguly if they fail the whole series. Naah .. that's not gonna happen, they all did bad in SriLanka .. but its just Dada who has to leave - others can congratulate their luck or PR skills.

I am not advocating that any of the fab-4 should leave. I believe they are all great cricketers who have a year or two in them. I am just sore an sorry for the treatment meted out for Ganguly. Why not have a rotation policy and keep benching one of the fab-4 for a test and let a junior take his place? Guys these people are called fab-4 for a reason - they had quality, they had the grit and they were consistent. I firmly believe that none of the Indian youngsters-in-wait have all this right now, as that fab-4 did when they took their place in Indian test side. Apart from that the fab-4 can and will still perform for at least a year or two if given opportunity. Does the selectors even know the meaning of the phrase "to phase out"?

Sourav : The Brave

Ganguly is correct, he has been humiliated time and again. He is paying the price of being a straight talker in a nation whose cricket is always about false-ego's and behind the back talks. Yes Sourav has ego but its up to ur face and he has quality (even now) to back it up. Sourav was never one to hide in a closet or weep silently. It might be a wrong time to voice his views but again will the world even care this much if he vents his anger after he has retired? What the "we-know-best's" of Indian cricket have done is to use Sourav when they needed him (bowing to his straight talk) and then go for his head at the first oppurtunity available. Every great player goes through bad patches. If you just want to talk about current form, I would say Sourav is just one series bad. I don't understand this concept of age in test cricket. I know that Sourav is a sloppy fielder, but his presence in the batting line up fills one with bravery. He is the BRAVE ONE, a rarity in Indian cricket.