Oh Captain! My Captain!This blog is in dedication to the man who changed the face of Indian cricket. Saurav Ganguly, India's most successful captain ever, did not deserve this.
We are talking about a man who led Indian Cricket through the match fixing scandal, who led us to the finals of the
World Cup.
We are talking about a man who looked Steve Waugh in the eye and did not flinch. In fact he beat the Aussies at their own game. He taught the usually feeble Indian team to stand and fight. His methods were'nt necessarily for the purists, but they were effective. For a change, we Indians had a captain who was a real tiger. We have had some great captains in terms of tactics in the past... Kapil DEv, Sunil Gavaskar... and our very own Sachin.
These men in the face of aggressive tactics from the opposition mentally steeled themselves and let their performance on the field do the talking, and likewise expected their teammates to do the same. But sadly, that does'nt happen too often. It was Ganguly who realised the need for tackling aggression with aggression to give confidence to the team and beat the opposition at their own game. He built with dedication a combative unit which unlike other teams in the past did not topple at the slightest sign of pressure.
He also put an end to regionalism in team selection policies and backed people he had faith to the hilt. Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Mohd Kaif, Virender Sehwag and many others all owe their now flourishing careers to the Bengali's careful nurturing.
Maybe Ganguly's time is up, maybe I am wrong in thinking he still has a couple more years left in him. But one thing I am absolutely sure of is this:
Nobody, absolutely nobody of Ganguly's stature deserves to be treated like this. He is a national icon and Mr. Kiran More dismisses his dropping as a
"unanimous decision taken in 5 minutes" ! The callousness is shocking!
Even his so called "proteges" have deserted him in his hour of need. Some people may call their silence as
professionalism, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do! Rahul, Hope you are reading this!
Indians must learn to respect their heroes, past or present! Too often, new comers are annointed with the crown of greatness, only to be shown the door at the slightest of failures.
And yesterday's hero is treated like crap, with no respect whatsoever for the man's achievements! What is missing is moderation both in our affections and criticisms. Even if they have to be ousted, it can be done gracefully without humiliating them! Indian Sport is unfortunately littered with such instances of ill treatment at the hand of the Fat Cats( the officials) whose sole interest seems to be money.
But all said and done, Ganguly has always been a fighter, an
aristocrat who has very often done as is his wont, whether people like it or not. And just like Kapil says, I dont want the prince begging for his place in the team.
The signs are good for he showed the stomach for a good fight in Delhi and isnt likely to go down quitely. Not for nothing is the man India's most succesful captain.
Fight it out, Oh Captain, My Captain!! Show them what you are capable off!!
P.S:Wishing you a grand come back, and a roaring return to form! You deserve it!
