The point I was trying to make is at this stage of his career, Ganguly does not bring the advantages of a proven player.
He does.
Ganguly in his last 3 ODI series:
NatWest Series [India in England], 2007
7 7 0 249 72 35.57 339 73.45 0 3 0 32 5 21 Aug 2007 England view innings
Australia in India ODI Series, 2007/08
5 4 0 127 86 31.75 181 70.16 0 1 2 13 2 29 Sep 2007 Australia view innings
Pakistan in India ODI Series, 2007/08
4 4 0 89 39 22.25 109 81.65 0 0 0 12 2 5 Nov 2007 India view innings
In seven matches in England, 3 50s and an average of 35.57.
Versus Australia, he averages 31.75 in the series which doesn't look flash on paper but he played a crucial role in 2 of the 4 matches of the series in which he batted. 41 in the
second ODI and
86 in Nagpur. Those two innings also meant opening partnerships of 91 and 140 respectively with Tendulkar. It isn't a surprise that India won the first ODI which I mention and fell short by just 17 runs in the second. The value of solid opening partnerships.
He averaged 44 in 2007 and I would say that he was very much a proven player.