Ganguly’s removal might have also been due to the Chappell misunderstanding but no one can overlook his terrible run with the bat. Really, Ganguly’s test batting was woeful. Look at his test batting record and Dravid’s!!! Freakish or not, we won a test series in West Indies and Dravid won it for us.

We have to take quick decisions but not mindless ones. I have myself wondered on this blog whether Dravid’s days as a captain are numbered. Also wondereed whether he continues simply because there don’t seem to be any alternatives. But then, his record was fairly decent till the first half of 2006. I don’t think it is fair on any other player to thrust the captaincy at this late stage. We have chosen Dravid. So, let us be patient. He will deliver.

That he with Chappell and More did not get it right, the proof is Ganguly had to be recalled. Remember it was stated by More that Ganguly will not be recalled as long as More held office; nothing to do with Ganguly’s form.

Ganguly did not lose captaincy because his inaptitude at being a leader, he lost it in a power struggle with Chappell, his slump in form was used to full advantage. Look around now. The amount of voices now agreeing that Dravid’s captaincy is too timid.

And I disagree when you say he can accelerate if/when he has to. The truth is he cannot accelerate. Whenever he tries to, he gets out. That was his problem in SA. With the openers and the top order persistently failing, he had to get quick runs, and was beaten time and time again.

He has a very restricted style of batting that relies on other quick fire batsmen to keep up with the required run-rate. The Test match win in WI was a situation where on a freakish pitch, the run getters could not survive, it was one occasion where his style of batting got us victory.

Even if we do not jump the gun, we have to take quick decisions. The World Cup is not far of. That is ofcourse based on what is our real priority. To win the World Cup, or to protect Dravid’s (definitely his ODI) captaincy.

I do believe that if we don’t find a stable pair, we are going to reduce the number of test runs Dravid can make. But the captaincy taking its toll, I don’t think so.

There have been many comments on Dravid’s style of batting. First, he can accelerate if and when he wants to. He has demonstrated this. Second, he has extremely successful doing what he has, why change?

Aren’t we jumping the gun speculating on ganguly’s return to captaincy. After all, he has just returned to form.

We are into the third test. The euphoria of the first ever win in SA was wiped away in the second. The third is still all to play for.

Where is Ganguly now, in relation to ‘the Wall’?

Ganguly has shown us that fighting spirit in him has not died. He took the short balls, his nemesis, on head and body, but instead running, time and time again he took the fight to the SA bowlers. He still has the ability to adapt to the varying requirements as the innings progresses.

We are now seeing a slump in Dravid’s batting. Granted in the second test, his dismissals were negated by technology, but he was not given out unfairly when he was in full flow. He was struggling and his misery was shortened by the dismissals.

Is the responsibilities of a captain taking its toll? I believe with the openers and top order failing so frequently, Dravid is struggling play his natural game. His defensive approach drops the run rate, letting the bowlers to dictate. Changing gears and speeding up is not his game.

If as anticipated, Ganguly had continued to fail, it would have made it easier for all concerned. But if things progresses as we see now or worsens, with Dravid in a batting slump, should he still lay claim to the captaincy? The arguments that pushed ganguly off his leadership should apply to all.

Ganguly’s return to form may cause more problems than we realise.
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best wishes for the New Year everyone.

My cricket blog (The ‘Silly Points’) has moved to http://thesillypoint.com/blogs. In case anyone would like to visit.

For me, the only disappointing aspect of the whole match was that, even during the weekends, the rivetting action was played in front on empty stands. Wondering if it was similar when Aus came over to SA. Any clue?

A couple of comments in this section made me wonder if Sourav could ever become captain again. The similarities with Azhar coming back and leading the team are there. So, while the possibility of Ganguly leading in the future cannot be ruled out, considering that this is Indian cricket we are talking about, the effectiveness of such a decision, if at all that were to happen, don’t quite look so promising.

Unlike Azhar’s reign, Ganguly’s reigned over GANGULY’s India. He was a decent test player, and a devastating ODI player (worryingly, in Indian cricket, the latter seems to matter more than the former), who imposed his presence both on the field and off the field (selection matters particularly).

Through this effort, he forged a team, HIS team, hinged around himself (in the limelight, for both the right and the wrong), Dravid and Wright (both of whom shunned the limelight). It was a glorious (relatively speaking) period, where we almost DOUBLED our previous number of away victories. Anyone that followed Indian cricket through the 90s should understand the value of the following statement…”Under Ganguly, India won test matches in England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Pakistan and Australia”….SURREAL!!!

We are definitely better at winning abroad now. We owe a big thank you to Ganguly’s India for that. However, we need to take the next step. And as someone who has immense belief and respect for the Dravid-Chappell duo, I am hoping that WE are patient with them to work on their ideas and build a team for the future.

They are going to make mistakes. They are going to make blunders. Everyone makes them. Ponting made blunders that made Aus lose the Ashes! I am hoping that we can be patient with them and ride out the rough period to pave the way for a better *system*. That is the key. Individual series victories can only do so much. They can inspire the next Dravid and Kumble, but they cannot produce 3 Dravids and 2 Kumbles.

Too often, I notice former cricketers being xenophobic. They indicate that Aussie ideas can never work in our system. Looking back, India never ever had a world beating era. We have always been talented under-performers. So, what is the harm in being open to new ideas? Really, what do we have to lose??!!!!

Ganguly coming back smacks of a public appeasing decision and THAT is NEVER going to help us in the long run, irrespective of his performance in the coming series. Too often, our criticism of the team management seems to vary from session to session of a test match. Reading through the bashing in the papers, you would have to assume that this team hasn’t won anything for years. Contrarily, we won our last AWAY TEST series! Surely, there is more wrong with the *fans* of Indian cricket than the team itself.

Having said all that, here’s wishing this fighter all the best for his future! May Indian cricket win!!!

But I have left only the fond memories and can only wish we could play together again.

I know I have, (and surely both of us) mature as time goes on and learn from past mistakes, so as not to commit them again in future.

(At the risk of revealing my old fashioned taste in music), most bands sounds better on their reunion tours, Pink Floyd and the Who for example.

So why not in a Dravid & Saurav reunion concert @ the Wanderers’?