Ganguly: once a hero, now an embarrassment ...

[adharcric]

Interesting article from rediff here, feel the same way about a lot of the things mentioned.

http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2005/sep/16arvind.htm

If Ganguly doesn't return to productivity soon as a batsman, he should be removed from the team altogether, at least for the time being. His batting has been pathetic this year.

Consider the following:
-In test cricket, Ganguly is the only regular batsman from the 8 top cricketing nations with a strike rate below 40 ... this, coming from a guy we thought of as a big hitter.
-In odi cricket, Ganguly is again the only regular batsman from the top 8 with a strike rate below 60 ... in short, he's currently playing like the worst top-level batsman in the world, that just sounds wrong considering the wealth of batting talent india has been associated with
-Despite his latest blazing 260-ball century against the world-class Zimbabwe attack, he's averaging 25 @ 37 sr (tests) and 17 @ 55 sr (odis)
-India should be striving for excellence and not mediocrity in cricket, and for this they need to reward performers and demote nonperformers
-With his pathetic state of batting, you'd think Ganguly has something else going for him, but no:
~fielding is terrible, especially for a captain ... just look at his pathetic attempts in the field
~running is disgraceful, got laxman run out ... terrible between-the-wickets running
~highly-acclaimed captaincy isnt exactly producing great results at the moment ... if ganguly and dravid are both doing poorly, that doesnt mean we should stick with ganguly, as dravid is at least earning his spot by other means ... this latest thing about being told to step down is also questionable, not a smart thing to do in the middle of a test

Dravid is not the only option for the captaincy, there is also Sehwag (expressed interest) and Kaif (has the passion and dedication required, not to mention brilliant fielding). Of course, Kaif won't get a chance with all those bigger names in the team ahead of him.

The point being, Ganguly better put up one hell of a fight to keep his place in the team. India would be well off without him right now.

[C_C]

This article is a bit sensationalist - nowhere in his interview did Ganguly mention that Greg Chappell had asked him to step down.

[adharcric]

Originally Posted by C_C

This article is a bit sensationalist - nowhere in his interview did Ganguly mention that Greg Chappell had asked him to step down.

agree with you in that regard, but don't you think ganguly should've kept that to himself till the end of the test as a mature captain.

[Shounak]

I don't think any of the other Indian players would make good captains. I cannot see Sehwag as a captain..

Dravid's too mellow and soft for my liking. I'd much prefer a more hardnosed sort of a person..

Kaif may be good. But I'd prefer he gained a bit more experience first..

[adharcric]

Originally Posted by shounak

I don't think any of the other Indian players would make good captains. I cannot see Sehwag as a captain..

Dravid's too mellow and soft for my liking. I'd much prefer a more hardnosed sort of a person..

Kaif may be good. But I'd prefer he gained a bit more experience first..

Your evaluations of Sehwag and Dravid are pretty spot-on. The thing is, Ganguly as captain is keeping one performing batsman/fielder out of the team. Also, is he really getting much done with his "hardnosed" attitude these days?

[Shounak]

Yeah he is keeping a performing member out of the team. But he was going through a similar patch in about 2001. He'll come out with an awesome score soon enough. A century against Zimbabwe is not what I'm talking about either.

Depends on what you think a hardnosed attitude is meant to get done. It's one of those things that'll only be noticed once he's gone..

[marc71178]

Originally Posted by adharcric

agree with you in that regard, but don't you think ganguly should've kept that to himself till the end of the test as a mature captain.

I don't see why he should even have had such a suggestion made to him.

If they want him out, sack him before the tour, don't ask him to stand down when out there already.

[Dasa]

Originally Posted by shounak

Yeah he is keeping a performing member out of the team. But he was going through a similar patch in about 2001. He'll come out with an awesome score soon enough. A century against Zimbabwe is not what I'm talking about either.

I'm not convinced that he CAN come back from this form slump. I've been a huge supporter of Ganguly in the past, but he's just totally changed how he plays these days...it's as much mental as anything else. Also, which 'performing member' is he keeping out of the team? Kaif doesn't have a great FC record and hasn't done all that much in Tests to date...I wouldn't place my hopes on Yuvraj either.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by Dasa

I'm not convinced that he CAN come back from this form slump. I've been a huge supporter of Ganguly in the past, but he's just totally changed how he plays these days...it's as much mental as anything else. Also, which 'performing member' is he keeping out of the team? Kaif doesn't have a great FC record and hasn't done all that much in Tests to date...I wouldn't place my hopes on Yuvraj either.

Kaif hasn't exactly done anything wrong either. Two 50s against Australia in 2004, one which came at a crucial point in the 2nd test, better than some other players performed in that series. He hasn't been seen since then. Maybe 'performing' is the wrong word to use however.

[Sanz]

Originally Posted by adharcric

Interesting article from rediff here, feel the same way about a lot of the things mentioned.
http://www.rediff.com/cricket/2005/sep/16arvind.htm

This article has come from the same guy who talked about Bursting the Sachin Bubble back in 1999 when Sachin was at the peak of his career.

I dont think I want to waste my time again by reading his BS.

[Sanz]

Originally Posted by adharcric

IIf Ganguly doesn't return to productivity soon as a batsman, he should be removed from the team altogether, at least for the time being. His batting has been pathetic this year.

If you are going to bash him, bash him but at least dont postg stats which are incorrect.

-In test cricket, Ganguly is the only regular batsman from the 8 top cricketing nations with a strike rate below 40 .

Wrong - His strike rate in tests is 49.15.

-In odi cricket, Ganguly is again the only regular batsman from the top 8 with a strike rate below 60 ...

Wrong. His strike rate in ODIs is 73.79


[quote-Despite his latest blazing 260-ball century against the world-class Zimbabwe attack, he's averaging 25 @ 37 sr (tests) and 17 @ 55 sr (odis)[/quote]

Blasing century or not, Tell me one thing which knock was more valuable to team, 77 by dravid, 45 odd scores by Sehwag/Gambhi or the 100 by Gangs.

~fielding is terrible, especially for a captain ... just look at his pathetic attempts in the field

And that's not new, is it ? Gangs has always been known for his poor fielding.

~running is disgraceful, got laxman run out ... terrible between-the-wickets running

Once again, it has always been like that, so why pick on it right now ?

~highly-acclaimed captaincy isnt exactly producing great results at the moment ...

Err when was the last time India lost a test series under Ganguly ?

[adharcric]

Originally Posted by Sanz

If you are going to bash him, bash him but at least dont postg stats which are incorrect.



Wrong - His strike rate in tests is 49.15.
I'm talking about the past one year, not his career. He is clearly a great batsman overall, but right now is what I'm talking about.


Wrong. His strike rate in ODIs is 73.79
Once again, 2005 was my intention.



Blasing century or not, Tell me one thing which knock was more valuable to team, 77 by dravid, 45 odd scores by Sehwag/Gambhi or the 100 by Gangs.



And that's not new, is it ? Gangs has always been known for his poor fielding.
Yes, but these days there isn't any batting prowess there to make up for it and keep him in the team for that sole reason.


Once again, it has always been like that, so why pick on it right now ?



Err when was the last time India lost a test series under Ganguly ?
The more concerning part is the one-day performance of the team. Also, how can you accredit India's test success to Ganguly when it has been individual players playing big knocks (Laxman, Dravid, Sehwag) or a bowler dominating (Kumble, Bhajji, Pathan) to win the match for India. I'm not at all an anti-Ganguly person, I would actually like for him to return to his old style of batting and earn his place in the team ... but right now, the team is more important than Ganguly, and he needs to perform.

.

[adharcric]

After the article from cricinfo, I don't think Chappell did anything tremendously wrong. It was a private discussion with a guy he considered a mature captain, and he was only expressing his opinion (which isn't such an abnormal one) and not making a demand. Ganguly then blasted away ... if this is the truth, I don't see how Ganguly is the "victim" here at all.

[Sanz]

Actually I am sick of Ganguly bashing that has been going on in the media. Why dont people say a word to the selection committee or the BCCI ? It is BCCI's job to drop Ganguly. If the coach/media/ex-cricketers have problem with it, then they should have the guts to criticize/question the board. Asking ganguly to drop himself or calling him a national shame or attacking him personally is getting boring.

But they dont have that guts to criticize the board or question board's decision, do they ?

Ganguly has been the whipping boy of the media, here are a few of those that come to mind -

*when he came as a cricketer in 1992, media ran a story of him refusing to carry the drinks and because of this sick reporting Gangs lost 4 valuable years in his career.

* One Indian captain, when asked about Sourav's exclusion in 1995, quipped 'Sourav Who ?' Ironically this same Indian captain once asked for 'Noel David' as a replacement for Srinath/Prasad in Australia.

* When Sourav was finally selected to play for England Tour, Media/Fans ran stories on how he had come from a quota system.

* In the series against australia, Indian Media ran stories about his relationship with an small time Indian actress and how his marriage was in jeopardy and all that ********

* In the same series he was accused of cheating the toss, and anyone who knows about the rupee coins in India will tell you that there are so many of them and it is hard to define head/tail at times, but still the media didn't leave him alone

* Once again in the same series he was ridiculed by media many other things

* He was accused of robbing Tendulkar of Double century in Pakistan, when he wasn't even the captain in that test(Dravid was) and also the fact that Sachin was given lot of time to complete his 200, but he kept on batting slowly..

* Now he is accused of disrupting the harmony of this same team, which was built by him.

[aussie]

lol at the name of the thread