Ganguly v Tendulkar

[aussie_beater]

GANGULY : AN OBJECTIVE ASSESMENT


CONS
1. No great tactician
2. Rarely seen correcting bowlers on the field or making them do things differently.
3. Once a player is out of his good books, he rarely gives a second chance.
4. Has a chip on his shoulder about the captains position and can appear irreverant towards seniors.
5. Doesnt seem to care that he comes off as arrogant.
6. His fielding is a terrible reflection on his attitude. This is one area any cricketer can improve. All it takes is hard work. Same for his running between wickets.
7. Seems to have too many mental blocks particularly in bowling non regular bowlers including himself.
8. Seems to suddenly run out of ideas when the team is under pressure. Tends to let things drift and wait for a favourable turn.
9. Seems reluctant to offer undiluted/unconditional praise to Sachin ever. Gives the impression of having a complex in this regard.
10. Rarely experiments on the field or in bowling changes. Very set and predictable as a fielding side captain.

VERDICT :
A good leader off the field but not a great one on it

As for point 2, he is not a bowling captain just like many others, and so he lacks the depth in really giving much valuable advise to a bowler on most occasions but I have seen him talk to bowlers quite frequently in fact and slowing down the over rate in such cases.

I would say your points 3,4 and 5 are not necessarily cons at all.Actually they may be pros that help in projecting strong leadership abilities for being respected by everybody.....which is a fact btw.

I don't seem to get where you are going with your point 9. Could you elaborate ?

For your point 10, I have seen him do very clever bowling changes like bowling Sachin in the Eden Gardens test in 2001 against the Aussies on the last day when Sachin got those wickets to turn the match on its head.There are similar examples where I can say he has done fairly well on that count and IMO its just a case of his overall attitude which peevs a lot of people that his failings are picked on more then his successes.

Overall I would say the only valid points in you cons list are 1 & 6, and 7 to an extent where he is seen as not experimenting too much with the bowling, but most of that are far outweighed by the pros in your list which project him as a strong leader.

So overall verdict: Ganguly is the best leader for the Indian cricket team on and off the field.

 

[tooextracool]

Yes I agree that Ganguly has his failings in strategy. But he is a very capable leader of men. That's what he has shown, and its an essential and important part of being a captain. He can improve on strategies.

Before Ganguly came in, India were getting thrashed in overseas series all the time without winning even a single test outside the sub-continent for 15 long years. Under him the team has now won tests in Zim, WI, Eng and Aus outside the subcontinent and ofcourse won in Pakistan and SL as well, and taken India to a world cup final outside the sub-continent also. That's an achievement when you put in context of India's performance away from home.Yes its a much better team to just be contented at achieving these, but what I am saying is that Ganguly has built this team and so should lead it till it reaches its potential, if it does at all.

yes i know what hes achieved, which is precisely why ive said that he should be retained as captain. i was referring only to the exaggeration of how ganguly picked india up when they were in shambles, that never was the case.

 

[SJS]

Can you elaborate on that. I found that very interesting.

And yes Raj, when I said 'Sachin' I meant 'Ganguly'.

For example if in a match Sachin has played a very good knock and at the presentation the presenter mentions how much impact Sachin's knock had, Ganguly's reply is invariably like, "yes but so and so also played well" or' lets not discount the bowlers etc.

I have heard effusive and undiluted praise of Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj from Ganguly but dont remember the last time he was effusive about Sachin.

I must stress I am not a Ganguly hater. I think Ganguly has done a helluva lot for this Indian team. This is my personal observation.

I think he finds himself in competition with Sachin, for all India public adulation (he is God only in Bengal), for media attention and not least for the one dayer opening slot which he has tried once before to usurp. His one place in cricket history (via stats) is the number of ODI centuries and it is as an opener that he stands the best chance of adding to the 22 he already has.

It is amazing that he should talk of Yuvraj opening in tests (inspite of being too flamboyant for that role) but not try him in that slot in Sachin's absence fromODI's.

 

[aussie_beater]

yes i know what hes achieved, which is precisely why ive said that he should be retained as captain. i was referring only to the exaggeration of how ganguly picked india up when they were in shambles, that never was the case.

'Shambles' may not have been the right word, but it was no exaggeration that the Indian team had reached a very low point in 2000, with series loss at home too which is like the Alamo for Indian cricket in some sense.

 

[aussie_beater]

For example if in a match Sachin has played a very good knock and at the presentation the presenter mentions how much impact Sachin's knock had, Ganguly's reply is invariably like, "yes but so and so also played well" or' lets not discount the bowlers etc.

I have heard effusive and undiluted praise of Dravid, Laxman and Yuvraj from Ganguly but dont remember the last time he was effusive about Sachin.

I must stress I am not a Ganguly hater. I think Ganguly has done a helluva lot for this Indian team. This is my personal observation.

I think he finds himself in competition with Sachin, for all India public adulation (he is God only in Bengal), for media attention and not least for the one dayer opening slot which he has tried once before to usurp. His one place in cricket history (via stats) is the number of ODI centuries and it is as an opener that he stands the best chance of adding to the 22 he already has.

It is amazing that he should talk of Yuvraj opening in tests (inspite of being too flamboyant for that role) but not try him in that slot in Sachin's absence fromODI's.

What you are saying is the perception that exists in India and mostly among Mumbaikars that every cricketer in the team needs to show some deference to Sachin because he is a legend and he is above everything. Ganguly is the boss and has no necessity to show any such thing towards Sachin. Also he needs to encourage the younger players more. Sachin is a self motivated experienced campaigner. Ganguly needs to make the younger players as much stars as everyone else and make them feel important too. That's the thing about this Indian team which is different and it comes from the basis of a strong leader who does not give a hoot about who Sachin or someone else is. Its his team and he runs the show. This whole accusation that Ganguly has a inferiority complex compared to Sachin is total rubbish IMO because Ganguly knows very well that he is no Sachin in anyone's standards. Its something other way around specially among Mumbaikars and die-hard Sachin fans that Ganguly has captured the limelight too much being the India captain and being successful at that too.

 

[SJS]

What you are saying is the perception that exists in India and mostly among Mumbaikars that every cricketer in the team needs to show some deference to Sachin because he is a legend and he is above everything. Ganguly is the boss and has no necessity to show any such thing towards Sachin. Also he needs to encourage the younger players more. Sachin is a self motivated experienced campaigner. Ganguly needs to make the younger players as much stars as everyone else and make them feel important too. That's the thing about this Indian team which is different and it comes from the basis of a strong leader who does not give a hoot about who Sachin or someone else is. Its his team and he runs the show. This whole accusation that Ganguly has a inferiority complex compared to Sachin is total rubbish IMO because Ganguly knows very well that he is no Sachin in anyone's standards. Its something other way around specially among Mumbaikars and die-hard Sachin fans that Ganguly has captured the limelight too much being the India captain and being successful at that too.

Well I am not a real Mumbaikar. I am from Delhi living in Bombay only for 3 years now.

I am not a die hard Sachin fan as is commonly understood.

I was a supporter of Ganguly during the days when it was fashionable to criticise anything and everything he did.

Finally, yes it is a perception thats why I used words like 'seems' and 'gives the impression' rather than a definitive IS or DOES. And of course it is just an opinion , right

 

[Sunny Mehta]

Still i see no real hard evidence which says Ganguly should carry on being captain

India are going to be the same old story when he is still around

 

[krishneelz]

mate mate mate ganguly is fine INDIA IS DOING GOOD so lets not change a winning formula

 

[FRAZ]

yeah yeah

 

[krishneelz]

but i do believe laxman looks good as vice

 

[honestbharani]

Ganguly is the best captaincy material in our country. Sachin can inspire just by being in the team, which he is doing for guys like Sehwag. We should leave it at that.

 

[SJS]

Ganguly is the best captaincy material in our country. Sachin can inspire just by being in the team, which he is doing for guys like Sehwag. We should leave it at that.

Probably a fair enough comment.