Ganguly IN or OUT

It was a poignant moment in the career of India's most successful test captain Saurav Ganguly, dropped from the test squad on Thursday to all but end his international career.Having pushed Sri Lanka paceman Chaminda Vaas for a single during the second test which India won on Wednesday, Ganguly intently watched as the shot was replayed a few times on the giant screen.

In his prime, Ganguly would have caressed that drive for four past cover. With selection at stake, it had to be a mere prod.In the end, Indian selectors lost patience by excluding him for the third and final test in Ahmedabad to focus on youth, all but ending the left-handed batsman's international career.The omission came despite his useful knocks of 40 and 39 to help India rally to a 188-run victory.

In October, he was sacked as captain and one-day player after a prolonged batting slump and a row with coach Greg Chappell.He barely kept his place for the first two Sri Lanka tests after chief selector Kiran More warned he would have to make big scores consistently.Indian media reported then that only a 3-2 split among the selectors had saved Ganguly. Three from the panel left following a regime change after recent cricket board elections.Any comeback into a talented middle-order now appears highly doubtful for the 33-year-old.In 86 tests, Ganguly has scored 5,150 runs at an average of about 40.00 including 12 centuries.He is among only four players to have scored more than 10,000 one-day runs with his 22 hundreds only behind compatriot Sachin Tendulkar's record 38.

The Kolkata player made a forgettable India debut as a teenager almost 14 years ago, banished after a single one-dayer with critics blaming his poor attitude.He stormed back five years later, scoring hundreds in his first two tests on the 1996 tour of England before going on to cement his one-day spot.Ganguly became captain in 2000 after Tendulkar quit following a 3-0 test series rout by Australia. His batting inconsistency was papered over as he added steel to the side.

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh criticised him for coming late for the toss during the 2001 India tour, where he guided the team to one of their greatest series triumphs, a stunning 2-1 comeback victory.Despite increasing criticism in India over his waning prowess with the bat, Ganguly would still have hoped for a more honourable exit from the side he led to a record 21 test wins.

Comments

Kelvin said…
Kia Ora (Hello) from a blogger down under in New Zealand. Interesting "posts". I'll be back to read some more. Have you ever done a "goggle search" of your name ? Merry Christmas
12:42 AM
Janani said…
@kelvin
U r welcum man.itz nice to see ppl viewing the blog neways MERRY CHRISTMAS TO U TOO.
12:59 AM
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