Dada Anymore or Dada Nomore ???

I would always love to blog about cricket. Cricket is not just my favourite sport....it is my passion. I often involve in some serious analysis about the game with my friends. Our analysis will be very deeper and more technical at times than the Gavaskars and the Boycotts....! Thanx to all my friends for helping me to know the game better.

DADA ANYMORE OR DADA NOMORE???

Let my first blog be about the hot topic in the cricket world today- Sourav Ganguly.
Ganguly's place in the team is certainly a question mark today. The resignation furore surrounding Sourav Ganguly continues. Ganguly himself has confirmed this statement in his interview to "The Hindu". He has told that he was asked to step-down as a captain by some official. He also refused to disclose the name of the person concerned ,whereas the coach Greg Chappel remains tight-lipped regarding this issue.

Despite so many chances , Ganguly failed to make an impression. When the opportunity presented itself during the Sri Lanka tour, He scored a lethargic 50 off 101 balls in the first one-dayer. That was not at all an impressive come-back kind of an innings for a batsman of his caliber. Even in this current Zimbabwe tour, he was struggling and seraching for gaps. The hundred he scored against Zimbabwe in the first test was totally out of character. That innings was described as "workmanlike innings" by the media. It came off 269 deliveries, with a strike rate of less than 50!. Having got the feeble bowling attack , Ganguly should've played all his shots which he used to play some 2 years back.

On the other hand, as far as Ganguly is concerned, this hundred is very crucial. He was under tremendous pressure when he came out to bat. All eyes were on him..... people around the world were keen to see how he places his innings in this test match. The left hander himself knew that he will never get a better chance,with only one more test match left in the tour and if the top-order fires in the next match then there would be a very minimal scope for him to score a 50 or a 100 in that match. He just wanted to occupy the crease as long as he can. That was what he did exactly on that day.

Many people say that he should not remain as the captain of the side anymore. I think that there is no point in taking away the captaincy from him. He is indeed a very good captain and there is no question about that. He has done well as a captain in the past and he was the one who re-built the Indian team. He was the one who explored the talents of people like Zaheer,Kaif,Harbhajan and Yuvraj. The question here is, whether he is really worthy for holding a place in the team as a player today. He has been given numerous chances by the team management despite his poor perfomances in both versions of the game. The last hundred he scored in a one-dayer was against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup! It has been two long years since Ganguly reached the three-digit mark in a ODI.

If the team management decides to retain him in the squad,then he should be retained as the skipper of the Indian team. If not, he should be dropped from the squad. Dropping out doesn't really mean throwing him away from the side,but he should be given a break to come-back. Ganguly on the other hand, should gain confidence by playing county cricket or some domestic competitions. He should put up some stunning perfomances to justify his selection to the Indian team. Unlike they do to the other players,the board should call him back to the side when his perfomances are satisfactory.

All the Cricket fans,including me are longing to see Ganguly blazing away like he did in the historic final match of the Natwest Series against England... Let's see what happens.

Come back DADA.....