7.Dravid lacks basic leadership skills and has a very selfish attitude.

Sushanta Bala
Leadership skill is required to lead a team. One's ability to
score tons of runs, does not make him a good captain. Through his
actions, after getting the captaincy, Rahul has shown how
insecured he feels and how desparate he is to keep Saurav out of
the team. He fears Saurav will take away his captaincy if allowed
to come back in the form. Thus, he approves whatever Chappel does
to keep Saurav away.

People are telling Dravid is a diplomat. Wrong! A 'diplomat' is
one who does not get caught while he does negative things. Dravid
started making mistakes from the day one at Eden Gardens. When
asked, "Whether you miss Saurav at Eden'?. Dravid, could have
answered this question from three angels.

a) A diplomat with a brain could have said "YES"...because he
would not have liked to lose calcuttans' supports.

b) As a 'human being with heart' (and its the one expected as they
had played for years together), he needed to say "Yes, we miss him
and hope he performs in the domestic circuit and makes a great
comeback!".

c)He opted for an option that does not characterize a diplomat -
"I am happy with whatever team selectors have given me". This is
what calcuttans were not ready to hear. It never revealed his
'independence of action or thoughts'. It shows he does not have
the required maturity level - a typical precondition of a
leader.

Worst what he said in Kotla. "I am 'happy' with the number of
choices and its a good problem". You can not treat Saurav Ganguly
at par with other contenders! He is no humble equal choice. The
concept of 'equality' does not arise! All are equal but some have
to be more equal!

It was again foolish when he made the reference of 'Gavasker amid
Eden Crowd' at Chennai. Taking Punga with crowd?....does not suit
a captain. A leader must know that 'crowd has no brain....runs by
emotion...' - per sociology books.

I am 1000% convinced that he lacks maturity expected of a captain
addressing a nation.

Dravid is working under the shadow of Chappel (with Greg in his
side) and the current power regime. He is using a positional  and
authoritarian leadership and most likely to fail in worst time.
Defeating a weak team like Sri Lanka who lost its inagural match
against a local team, does never mean the Team-India is at the top
without Saurav. Heaven forbid, if Team India performs badly
against Pakistan, the authoritarian leadership style will come
under scrutiny. History tells us how 'authoritarian leadership
regimes' were instrumental in reaching the worst injuries to
mankind. Greg - the Hitler and Mohammed-Bin-Tughlaq of the modern
cricketing times and his power-loving follower Dravid, show
trementous potential of reaching a material injury to the Indian
cricket.

Arjuna Ranatangua, a seasoned cricketer, talked in the same
line.
Onus is now on Rahul Dravid to come out of the shadow of Greg
Chappel. If he fails to do so, he will lose the respect of the
teammates. There is no gainsaying the fact that present Team-India
sees Greg as the real-captain inside and outside the field. This
is no good news to Rahul Dravid. What is the glory of being a
puppet-captain? It is very much understandable that the members of
Team-India sans the few Chappel-favourites are passing through
sleepless nights. Axe can come on anybody, anyday. Cricket is a
team game and can not be played amidst fear, uncertainty and an
authoritarian regime.

8.Sourav issue : Younis  and Akram

Sushanta Bala

The former had recently said that Ganguly's selection was a move
backwards and the latter ratified it. Akram also suggested that Sourav needed
to understand the writing on the wall and if not played in Pakistan, he
needed to return home.
The statements of the two former Pakistani players are well-thought
ploys to create pressure on Sourav and Team India. These pre-match
offensives from senior and current cricketers of Pakistan are nothing new and
needs to be discounted.
About 'writing on the wall', wait to see our next column tomorrow or
the day after.
Akram's suggestion that Sourav must come back to India if not picked up
in the 11-member squad, is unrealistic and motivated. This will be
tantamount to indiscipline and give a good weapon to Chappel, Dravid  and
More Company Limited to axe Saurav for ever.
Having insulted the most successful captain in a brute way, there can't
be anything worse that can happen to Sourav now. If not picked up in
the playing eleven by Chappel (Rahul is a persona-non-grata) and  Raj
Singh Dungarpur, we strongly suggest that Sourav must come to the field
with Drinks Trolley and water bottles. I hope that moment will be the
most glorious moment in the history of Indian cricket and will be enjoyed
greatly by Indians who are anti- Sourav and anti-Bengal.
Dear Sourav, don't miss this opportunity to create history. Kindly do
this and we will then take over!!!

9."Politically incorrect cribs about life, love and everything in between". 

Arnab Ray

..put the nice writng by a bong ..here …

Let me start out by saying - I am a Bengali from Calcutta. I am not a Pakistani spy, I love my India (or at least listen to the Pardes song) and yes I support Sourav Ganguly.

And here's why. Sourav Ganguly makes me more acutely aware of my identity than any other thing simply because anti-Gangulyism is strongly followed by and often driven by anti-Bengalism - a surprisingly powerful and undeniably perceptible sentiment I have felt more than once in my life in the company of fellow Indians.

Let's look at it logically. Who is Sourav to me? A rich man's son who has had many privileges growing up that I didn't have - by common consent arrogant, abrasive and petulant. Not my favourite kind of person. I have never been parochial, have no problems in making fun of other Bengali heroes (Mithun-da for example), do not hero-worship Netaji and do not consider the Hilsa to be the last thing in cuisine. And yet the mere mention of Dada makes me conscious of my linguistic identity which is ironic considering the fact that Sourav Ganguly's greatest legacy is his lack of parochialism and his hard-nosed objectivity while dealing with Indian cricket players

Here's a simple test. Go through a few articles about Sourav. The word "Bengal" or "Kolkata" is going to be present in the article with a high probabibility. Now go through a few articles about Sachin. Check out "Maharashtra" or "Mumbai". Just to confirm that go to articles about Rahul Dravid and check out "Karnataka" or "Bangalore". Why is Sourav the "Prince of Calcutta" and not Dravid "the Bangalore Bomber" or Sachin "the Mumbai Marauder"?

Go through discussion forums on Ganguly. The people who abuse Ganguly very frequently use abusive words against Bengalis too - often in the same breath. In New York where I was a PhD student for 5 years, the guy who used to rain abuse at Ganguly happened to be someone who stayed in Kolkata when he was a child and hated it. Just a coincidence. Whenever Ganguly got out, eyes would turn towards me ... some people would tell me "What Arnab-da ... when is Dada going to make runs?" as if somehow me being Bong made me answerable for Sourav's performance. No Bangalorean or Marathi was ever held accountable for Sachin's or Rahul Dravid's failures with the bat - and there have been several over the past 5 years.

So let me come out and say it. Yes sir, I support Ganguly because he is Bengali. Because you have left me with no other choice. If I was Bangalorean and took out a procession burning effigies of Ganguly and shouting slogans for Rahul Dravid, I would not be considered parochial. But with me being a Bengali Kolkatan, I have already been labelled. So now let me live upto it. Unapologetically.

Let me say at the start that there is a strong cricketing case that can be made for Ganguly's exclusion. But similarly strong cases, based on hard benchmarks for performance, can be made against quite a few players in the team. And we all know that our Board of Selectors cares two hoots for performance - as an example, can anyone tell me why Balaji is suddenly out of favour (in his last ODI he gave 48 runs in 10 overs)? Similarly how come a few good overs in the Challenger Trophy gets Sreesanth into the team - how does Chappell and More perceive talent in blindingly brief displays? If Ganguly is dropped on account of his age, then how come JP Yadav, who is 31, is being blooded now? JP Yadav and Venugopal Rao were tried as replacements in Sourav's slot - was their performance exceptional?

Here's the truth. Ganguly has been dropped because he will not play ball with Chappell, since he has his own ways of going about things. This makes it purely a power struggle between coach and captain and the captain has been defeated and replaced by someone more pliable. Simple. It happens in the corporate world - it happens elsewhere. But please let's not apply "Fair and Handsome" onto this mess and pretend that it has anything to do with "long term vision" and "performance".

"Whoa there… cool down" you say, "Sourav is not the first cricketer who has been eased out unceremoniously (and certainly won't be the last). So why are you frothing at the mouth?"

That is because Greg Chappell, with the aid of his friends in the Press (more about that later) have not only kicked Ganguly out but most importantly savaged Dada's legacy - Greg "underarm" Chappell rightfully understands that in order to get rid of Ganguly the person, he first needs to kill Ganguly the legend.

Canards were spread that Ganguly faked injury, spread discontent in the team - accusations intended to undermine Ganguly's reputation of never playing politics based on personal equations (a charge Ganguly's predecessors in the captain's seat cannot so easily deflect). The investigation of the board cleared Ganguly of the charges of faking an injury - yet the coach, who had been proven to be a liar, was not taken to task. Instead it was Ganguly who was out of the team despite having successfully defended himself against all accusations .

And then of course there is the blatantly biased press coverage. And why are they biased against Sourav? Simply because Ganguly does not give them quotable quotes and instead pampers a select coterie of journalists - as a result those outside the "circle of trust" have been waiting with their knives out ready to plunge it in when he slipped up. And slip up he did and out came the daggers. So you don't believe me?

Well let's see what a journalist has to say:

The coterie that once surrounded him, and contributed in no small measure to the media disenchantment that cost him the top job, stayed at a respectful distance. So here it is in black and white. It's evidently "media disenchantment" that cost Sourav the top job - not performance as we have been led to believe. Granted, there maybe more than a bit of self-importance in the above quoted line but the point is, to an extent, valid.
For all he has contributed to this team, Ganguly deserved a better farewell - if indeed that's what this is - than being abruptly dropped. He deserved to walk away into the sunset, head held high, not be nudged out, first by coach, then the media, the public, and finally the selectors. But then again, with his batting, his behaviour and his almost stubborn refusal to let go, he barely gave anyone a chance to do any better by him.

What behaviour sir? The bad behaviour of snubbing "certain" reporters? Or the behaviour alluded to by the "proven-to-be-lies" accusations by the coach? Or is it the fact that he refuses to throw in the towel that irritates you? The fact that he is fighting hard at the nets, the fact that he is not backing out, the fact that he has regained his form?

A month ago with Ganguly's career on the line, he was greeted with a green top in a domestic match. Ganguly replied with a century. The press was silent.

Then comes November 25. Eden Gardens. A green top at Eden. More and Dravid ask the curator to cut the grass but he does not oblige. The press shouts bloody murder - it is a plot by parochial ,unpatriotic Bengalis/Kolkatans to make India lose.

Stop stop stop ! What happened to Chappell's - "Let's step out of our comfort zones!" Incidentally, are More and Dravid going to expect the curator of the Barbados pitch during the next World Cup to cut off the grass just because we can't play on green pitches? I am also reminded of the time when in a series not so long ago, a certain Indian captain was lampooned by the very same presswallahs for "being afraid of a green pitch". Collective, selective amnesia, no doubt.

Greg Chappell shows the Calcutta crowd the middle finger (or tends to his injured finger according to the official version). Unacceptable behaviour from the national coach? Nope. According to an article in a national newspaper, the Calcutta crowd deserved it. And why ? Because we had prepared a green pitch. Because we had booed Dravid . It's another thing that he batted pathetically and that by virtue of being the captain, he was also technically responsible for a horrible day of gutless and thoroughly inept cricket (As an aside: I recollect countless instances when Sourav has been booed at match-end award ceremonies and while walking back to the pavilion - but we all know that parochialism is a prerogative of us Bengalis!).

Let's forget Sourav - yes he cannot play fast bowling. But Dravid can. Sachin can. Then why did both of them bomb on a "green pitch" - the same strip of grass where the South Africans got 189 runs without losing a wicket ! If the players accept the applause after a good performance, why are they so sensitive when jeers follow a bad display on the field ? In any case, why does the booing necessarily imply that Kolkatans, as a collective entity, are anti-nationals who prayed for an Indian defeat?

And though there may have been some Bengalis who said "yes we are happy to see India lose", please understand that what they expressed was a reaction to the persistent attack on Ganguly the person (as opposed to Ganguly the player) and the collective gloating of large sections of the press at Sourav's humiliation - come on now, nobody in Bengal seriously wants India's nose rubbed in the ground.

In conclusion, it is this biased reporting against Sourav, the needless harping on his linguistic roots and the barbs targeted at Sourav's home city that has driven me, possibly against my better judgment, to become a Sourav-supporter. The strong sense of kinship I feel for him has been imposed on me against my choice, but now that the deed is done, it's here to stay. So shoot me.

Oh yes! A word of advice from a parochial Bong to our friends at ihateganguly.com or whatever that site is called. Please go to Alipore Zoo and see a Royal Bengal tiger. Old, haggard, underfed kept in an enclosed space that's dirty and damp. People throw rubbish, taunt and laugh and the regal beast sits there - unmoved, immune to the humiliation. But just come into his cage and see what he can do - a few people who jumped into the tiger's cage to garland the benign beast found out to their dismay when they were reduced to ribbons.

Similarly, the fire still burns inside Royal Bengal Ganguly - and as the fools jeer and mock him he continues tirelessly determined to come back. In glory.

You are right Mr Journalist. Sourav shall not go away. And neither shall we, his "parochial" supporters .

 10.Let's Denounce Saurav Ganguly and All Hail Greg "Underarm" Chappell

The Angsuman Chakraborty

I think it is the right time to "denounce" Saurav Ganguly, India's most successful cricket captain ever, and "All Hail" Greg "underarm" Chappell, who is incidentally as well known for his underarm tactics in the infamous game with New Zealand as his cricketing acumen. After all he in his "infinite wisdom" has found Ganguly to be guilty of what were thought to be his greatest traits like finally creating a Team India that you saw in Natwest and last World Cup. Not to mention Greg has the support of "cricketers" like Raj Singh "so rabidly fanatic and partisan that isn't even laughable anymore" Dungarpur and Sharad Power, whose best games are played in the corridors of congressional politics.

Down with Ganguly I say. After all we are succeeding too often these days. It was better in the days of Aj-har-uddin (Aj+Har means in Bengali - Defeat Today) where Indian team had developed this endearing habit of running in fright facing any kind of pace bowling abroad and scampering like chicken caught in headlight, not to mention an almost 0% rate of win. The best you could hope when Indian team was abroad was a draw.

Dilip Vengsarkar once said that one can gauge the pace and bounce of a bowler by watching Azharuddin jump at every ball from the other end.

And then in home ground you prepare real "turner" pitches where even your great-grandmother can bowl like Warne and Muralidharan combined, in the hope of slightly redeeming yourself.

I miss these glory days. I am sure Australia misses them too. After all Sourav didn't give Australian's much peace during India's tour; so much so that they finally crumbled in England. Who wouldn't want him out of team? If I was an Australian, or English (remember shirt-waving Sourav after beating them in Natwest final?) I would too.

I am positive Rahul "Lackey" Dravid can bring back the "glory" days of Indian cricket. I really like the way he makes his "wall" (intelligent like a wall) like decisions as captain as seen in Sri Lanka.

Our "glory" days will be back again - where the "meek shall inherit" under Greg Almighty (pronounced like Bruce Almighty). We will share the fate of the Australian league team he coached before he assumed the mantle in India

10. GANGULY, BENGALIS, AND INDIANS

By an anonymous blogger

TO I is busy these days printing Ganguly bashing blogs in it's website. And why not, it sells these days. Great way to garner advertising and rake up profits!   Who cares if the country gets divided on the lines of ethnicity and people start pelting stones because the guy in front happens to be a bengali. Well, we do have rich history of dividing the country in lines of religion, caste, and ethnicity. In recent times, Delhi has witnessed killing of Sikhs because Indira Gandhi was killed by Sikh bodyguards, and  Gujarat witnessed killing of Muslims  because Godhra Train carnage. We also have bitter memories of partition when the country went on killing frenzy based on religious line. So, now we have a new reason to go on war - Sourav Ganguly. Wow! When did sports personalities start creating drift within a nation?

The whole drama started when Chappell's e-mail got leaked to the media. For some very strange reason, media started playing on the tunes of Chappell's allegation, none of which have been proved. All of a sudden Chappell became the last word and Ganguly the villain. Chappell like most westerners are used to see Indians listening to them in a typical "Yes, Sir" mode and doesn't like people who question them. He had to have a captain who would never challenge his decision and always listen to what he has to say. Of course, who could be a better candidate than Dravid. In the meantime a different equation evolved in the selection committee. Sadly, Ganguly got equated as a Dalmiya guy even after his 5 valuable years of Indian cricket captaincy with over 5000 runs (not only against Bangladesh and Zimbabawe), and having won the highest number of matches for India. So, it was like if Dalmiya goes, so should Ganguly and if Dalmiya stays then Ganguly will stay. So, to those Ganguly bashers, this is nothing to do with his performance, it's merely politics, which you guys do not have the ability to understand.  Sharad Pawar with the blessings of Madam Gandhi defeated Dalmiya, and Mr. More took cue in advance and did his needful by removing the Dalmiya guy. Some so-called mumbaikars seems to be in all praise of Pawar because he hails from Maharashtra. He will clean up the mess created by Dalmiya, etc. Let's not forget the infamous Enron saga, which we got into under the helm of Mr. Pawar. Pawar is not going to do any cleanup; he is simply here to garner publicity for his own election agenda. He'll bring back the era when majority of the cricketers emerged from Mumbai and win public sympathy making it easier for him to be at the top in Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar has proved nothing as agriculture minister, except help to raise onion prices through the roof to protect the farmers' lobby in Maharashtra . And as for Raj Singh Dungaprur and I.S. Bindra, the least said the better. In these people mind getting rid of Ganguly is like getting rid of a Dalmiya man, and for that they will go to any length abusing his ability, making false allegations. Chappell very well understands this politics and is using it for his own benefit. B.T.W Mr. cricket geniuses did you guys take a look at three new selectors that got featured as new selectors? Nobody has ever hear their names before. So, Pawar has his cronies lined up.

To so called patriot Indians, you say Kolkata should be banned from holding ODI because it brought out its frustration of ignoring Ganguly. Lemme ask you one thing. What would have true mumbaikars done if a non-injured Sachin fully geared up to play were dropped from an ODI being played in Mumbai? Shiv Sena had already demonstrated what they are capable of during Paksitan match. At least Kolkata spectators did not do that. The beauty of Kolkatans is that they not only show their support for their hometown lad but also for others like Kapil when he was in a similar fashion kept out of the team by Gavaskar, and Mushtaq Ali by Duleep Singh (a mark of similar dirty politics). As for what Bengal stands for and what Bengal has contributed in the making of India, there's so much, this blog is not sufficient. There will always be some buffoon who will make comments like "I had a Bengali boss, very bad guy, ... Bengalis are...., etc." Go and educate yourself before passing some meaningless idiotic comments. As for the match in Eden Gardens , it has always been and will remain the sought after Ground in the World. None of the garbage being dished out will affect its image.

Saying all these, I know there will be more Ganguly/Benagli bashing just because it's the current fad. We Indians are truly idiots to kick our own butt. We keep abusing this guy who brought a positive attitude to the game. Before Ganguly era, we were labeled as the good boys of cricket who didn't reply back even if they're heckled and abused by the Australians and English players. Ganguly had the guts to reply these back with a spat and revitalize the team with new energy. He was responsible for stopping the regionalism, which unfortunately is being promoted right now. He was different from the captain of yesteryears who shamelessly included a non-performing regional player within the team repeatedly. And as for the performance, how many years Gavaskar, Azhar, and scores of others played with a horrible performance? Where were this performance mongers then? Even Sachin had his own slump. But then it's Pawar play now, chappell/dravid/more won't have the guts to touch him even he underperforms for the next 10 ODI.

It has been really interesting to see how a cricketer who did a great job for his country and recently went to a slump be bashed so much. Even completely useless cricketers like Shastri in his time didn't get so much crap dished at him. This is INDIA !!!!