Is Ganguly a good captain?
Just had a heated discussion with a friend of mine as to whether Ganguly is a good or bad captain.After today's debacle the performance of the captain will definitely come under much scrutiny.His performance with the bat in recent times has been woeful to say the least.
In the recently concluded test series the two captains were a stark contrast to each other in terms of batting performance. Inzy lead from the front decimating the bowling with clinical precision. On the other hand our "Prince of Calcutta" always struggled to reach double figures. It was a pathetic sight watching a baffled Ganguly trying to somehow open his account. Even a few years back he was considered one of the best bestman who could go after the spinners with gay abandon.
Has the time come for a change at the helm of Indian cricket?
However that is not the topic of today's post.
Is Ganguly a good captain?
See his record as a captain. He is India's most successful captain ever. No other captain even the great Pataudi can boast of such records.Winning a test series in pakistan is no mean achievement.Not losing a series in Australia was unheard of in Indian Cricket.
" A captain should lead from the front", is a cliche often heard.
Many like my friend argue that Ganguly has got a very good team which boasts of
India's best batting line up ever. With such a good team at his disposal he is bound to win matches. However ppl do forget the fact that it was he who transformed the team from a bunch of high profile individual performers to a cohesive unit. Earlier there were many factions within the dressing room. kapil dev faction, the gavaskar faction were very well known during their hey days. However thankfully now we do not have such factions anymore. During Azhar's time barring some individual brilliant performance from tendulkar the team never showed any
fighting spirit. The killer instinct or that zing in the steps to finish off the opponent was simply not there.
However many a time under ganguly's captaincy we have seen India make a fight out of nowhere. For example, the memorable Natwest trophy.India was down and almost out.
But out of nowhere Kaif and Yuvarj fought back and we won. So ppl will ask how is Ganguly linked with this. I believe that he along with Wright and Dravid has been responsible in imbibing the fighting spirit to the new young guns like Sehwag,Yuvraj etc.
Don't get me wrong. After seeing today's match it seems that the team is back to Azhar's days, where, just by seeing the large total to be chased the team used to give up. Some say that being a Bong(bengali) and that too from Kolkata I have a soft corner for Ganguly. I firmly disagree, infact like many others I am a Tendualkar fan. But i stronlgy believe that u should give a person wht he deserves. The present Indian captain certainly deserves some applause for the way he has handled the team over the past few years.
See, I have no problem in admitting that Ganguly is a burden on the team in terms of his batting but can India get a better captain? Some say that we should try out Dravid atleast in the tests. It is not a bad idea at all. The selectors should ask Ganguly to play some more domestic matches and regain his form. However his one day record automatically selects him into the team.
Though his reputation has suffered tremendouslydue to his batting none can argue tht he is a good captain. Ask rival captains like Steve Waugh for a change. Earlier we used to be undone by the sledging and the ferocious body language of the aussies. Now we dont flinch and often carry the battle into the rival camp.( i believe this series was an exception.)
All great cricket pundits leaving some like Bedi have remarked that Ganguly is a very good captain. The body language and the demeanour of the entire team has undergone a metamorphosis from the days of azhar. That can and should be rightly attributed to ganguly's attitude.Though i strongly believe tht ganguly should be dropped from the test team it does not take away the fact tht he is or should i say was " the best and most successful Indian Captain in the history of Indian Cricket."
In the recently concluded test series the two captains were a stark contrast to each other in terms of batting performance. Inzy lead from the front decimating the bowling with clinical precision. On the other hand our "Prince of Calcutta" always struggled to reach double figures. It was a pathetic sight watching a baffled Ganguly trying to somehow open his account. Even a few years back he was considered one of the best bestman who could go after the spinners with gay abandon.
Has the time come for a change at the helm of Indian cricket?
However that is not the topic of today's post.
Is Ganguly a good captain?
See his record as a captain. He is India's most successful captain ever. No other captain even the great Pataudi can boast of such records.Winning a test series in pakistan is no mean achievement.Not losing a series in Australia was unheard of in Indian Cricket.
" A captain should lead from the front", is a cliche often heard.
Many like my friend argue that Ganguly has got a very good team which boasts of
India's best batting line up ever. With such a good team at his disposal he is bound to win matches. However ppl do forget the fact that it was he who transformed the team from a bunch of high profile individual performers to a cohesive unit. Earlier there were many factions within the dressing room. kapil dev faction, the gavaskar faction were very well known during their hey days. However thankfully now we do not have such factions anymore. During Azhar's time barring some individual brilliant performance from tendulkar the team never showed any
fighting spirit. The killer instinct or that zing in the steps to finish off the opponent was simply not there.
However many a time under ganguly's captaincy we have seen India make a fight out of nowhere. For example, the memorable Natwest trophy.India was down and almost out.
But out of nowhere Kaif and Yuvarj fought back and we won. So ppl will ask how is Ganguly linked with this. I believe that he along with Wright and Dravid has been responsible in imbibing the fighting spirit to the new young guns like Sehwag,Yuvraj etc.
Don't get me wrong. After seeing today's match it seems that the team is back to Azhar's days, where, just by seeing the large total to be chased the team used to give up. Some say that being a Bong(bengali) and that too from Kolkata I have a soft corner for Ganguly. I firmly disagree, infact like many others I am a Tendualkar fan. But i stronlgy believe that u should give a person wht he deserves. The present Indian captain certainly deserves some applause for the way he has handled the team over the past few years.
See, I have no problem in admitting that Ganguly is a burden on the team in terms of his batting but can India get a better captain? Some say that we should try out Dravid atleast in the tests. It is not a bad idea at all. The selectors should ask Ganguly to play some more domestic matches and regain his form. However his one day record automatically selects him into the team.
Though his reputation has suffered tremendouslydue to his batting none can argue tht he is a good captain. Ask rival captains like Steve Waugh for a change. Earlier we used to be undone by the sledging and the ferocious body language of the aussies. Now we dont flinch and often carry the battle into the rival camp.( i believe this series was an exception.)
All great cricket pundits leaving some like Bedi have remarked that Ganguly is a very good captain. The body language and the demeanour of the entire team has undergone a metamorphosis from the days of azhar. That can and should be rightly attributed to ganguly's attitude.Though i strongly believe tht ganguly should be dropped from the test team it does not take away the fact tht he is or should i say was " the best and most successful Indian Captain in the history of Indian Cricket."
posted by An Unknown Citizen at 10:03 PM
2 Comments:
DD I fully support your views
notwithstanding his personal form
ganguly has done wonders to the indian cricket. Current highly talented indian cricket team is also a result of faith & confidence which he had put on youngesters. He had structured this team from ashes and for it he deserves full credit.
But every day is not sunday may be a short break can help him regaining his earlier form and aggressiveness which he is known for
Let's face it - it's today that Ganguly's performance is pathetic. But it was not so sometime back though. However, without a shadow of doubt, Ganguly has been the most critised captains/players of our times. Even during the good times, he always faced the brunt of critism.
In my opinion, it's still difficult for people to digest the concept of an non-karnataka/non-maharastrian captain.
Post a Comment
<< Home