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You Speak :-
The rise and fall and rise of Sourav Chandidas Ganguly.....Khelbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo......
K S Shankar
The rise and fall and rise of Sourav Chandidas Ganguly.....Khelbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo......
As Rahul Dravid hit the winning runs in the abbreviated 3rd Test at Kanpur between India ands South Africa, his partner at the other end was watching the action with the cool composure of a man who had seen it all,done it all and on atleast one occasion bared and dared it all.
As far as Test matches go, it was not a memorable one.....no hat-tricks, no triple centuries and no umpiring controversies.
However, the discerning Indian cricket fan had been given a glimpse of the steely resolve of one of his favourite heroes - a man about whom public opinion is as divided as Geoff Hurst's controversial goal in the 1966 football World Cup final against West Germany at
Wembley.
What more does a man have to do to enter cricket's hall of fame ?
- 37 hundreds and 18000 runds scored in Tests and ODIs
- most successful captain produced by the most cricket-mad country
- born leader of men
- a great team player
But it had not been like this always. The young Ganguly did his duty grudgingly in 1992 carrying water bottles for his teammates and was made to field on many an occasion as a substitute. For a man nicknamed Maharaj, this was as cruel as it could get.
Goddess Kali smiled on this enterprising Bengali and all was forgotten when he made his debut alongwith "The Wall" in June 1996. A century on debut at the Mecca of world cricket was more than any cricketer could have asked for. Thus began the august career of this never-say-die cricketer. But we will come to the never-say-die part in a moment.
There was never a shred of doubt about the latent talent of this thoroughbred. What had lacked was opportunity and Ganguly grabbed it with both hands. The first resurrection was complete.
A famous ODI partnership with the pocket dynamo flourished against all types of opposition all over the world. But the doubts lingered. Can he handle the short stuff ? Can he handle more than himself ?
As luck would have had it, in 1999-2000 Indians discovered, much to their chagrin, that some of the one-day matches lost by this cricket-crazy nation were due to fixed efforts put up by some of its demi-gods. Infact, when the controversy finally subsided (it was never doused completely) , there were very few cricketers left in the arena with snow-white reputations. Of course, the pocket dynamo answering to the name of Sachin Tendulkar had never been involved in any of these shenanigans. Thankfully, so had a few more men who had somehow resisted the lure of the lucre and wittingly disconnected phone calls from unknown numbers. One of such men was Sourav Ganguly and the cricket board decided in all its wisdom to pass the crown of thorns to the Bengal tiger. Mr Ganguly was first among equals, what with Sachin having decided against biting the forbidden captaincy fruit again - the earlier experience and banishment from personal form had proved too much to handle.
With a largely unsullied bunch of men, Sourav went about mending more than India's tattered cricketing reputations. A mini-world cup final against New Zealand in Kenya in October 2000 set the mood for more rewarding outings. India beat Australia on the way to the final - a foreboding of things to come for Steve Waugh's bandoliers.
An unbeatable Aussie side landed in India with the assuredness of a true champion. There was only one agenda - to conquer the final frontier and get on with life in the record books. The 1st of 3 tests began omniously - the Don passed away on the 1st day of the Mumbai test match , having scored 92.50 years on his only innings on Planet Earth. Australia did not allow the cricketing sorrow to affect them in any manner and went on to record an innings win. The juggernaut showed no signs of stopping and the caravan reached Ganguly's hometown. The Eden Gardens (just Eden to most Bengalis) witnessed a mauling from Hayden in the 1st innings. India's first innings was a rerun of the capitulation witnessed earlier at Mumbai. So far, too good for Steve Waugh. He had become the city's most favourite expat with his altruistic contributions to the wretched who inhabited the black hole. What happened on the 3rd day of the Test Match could never have been foretold by the foremost clairvoyants in this astrology-infected land. A very very special innings by the phlegmatic Mr Laxman (ably assisted by "The wall") set the stage for the most mysterious escapes by a cricketing side. In front of a crowd baying for a victory, Ganguly's Gladiators escaped the clutches of a world-record-awaiting Australian side . All had come to nought for Waugh who had committed the cardinal sin of enforcing the follow-on, thus damning his warriors to face the onslaught of a rampaging turbanator on the 5th day. Ganguly's men had performed an act which would have made India's most famous magician proud.
A rejuvenated Indian side shut the door firmly on Australia in the 3rd and final test at Chennai. A much-maligned team had been baptised with fire and had emerged mentally integrated. In July 2002, in an effectively 2-horse Natwest Trophy in England, India reached the final only to almost stumble at the final hurdle. Ganguly's fiesty start to the Indian innings was quickly surrendered to the inept batting display by India's middle disorder. Ganguly's young turks gatecrashed the party and secured a defeat-defying victory. On the hallowed balcony of Lord's a man wearing jersey no. 99 could not resist a macho riposte to Flintoff's jersey-twirling gig in India a few months ago. To this day, many Indian fans believe that Ganguly, bare-chested, was mouthing Flintoff's name , although close-up television pictures leave no one in doubt. The purists were enraged but did they matter ?
Having taken the ODI final monkey off their backs, Ganguly's Gladiators goosestepped their way to the World Cup in South Africa, carrying the hopes and expectations of a billion people. A surprisingly easy way to the final found India face-to-face with Punter's Army at the Wanderers in Johannesburgh. Punter had decided to make the final all his own and plundered the Indian attack, lending credence to rumors that Genghis Khan had turned up in cricketing gear. But the abiding memory for many an Indian fan would be the way the side, ably led by Ganguly, had reacted to each of its opponents. On the way to the final, Ganguly's merry men had laid to rest the ghost of the 1999 last-over Zimbabwe debacle (where fate and a rampant Henry Olonga had deprived India of a much-needed win), obliterated the old enemy England, torn asunder its historical twin at the Centurion and educated New Zealand on the finer aspects of a level-playing field, while keeping its cool and wickets against a surprised-more-than-surprising Kenyan side which had the temerity to show up twice against India - the pretender was soundly trounced on both occasions.
After returning to India with their heads held high, Ganguly's men headed to Waugh's Wilderness in December 2003. A match-saving and series-inspiring century from Dada (he had metamorphosed from Maharaj to this new moniker) at Brisbane ensured that India would return home with the Gavaskar-Border trophy. Waugh, though, ensured that Australia would not have to suffer the ignominy of losing a test series at home, with a face-saving 80 in his last innings.
In India , all attention was now focussed on the ice-breaker of a series scheduled against Pakistan. A memorable series produced an unforgettable result. India beat its newly discovered friend in Tests and ODIs. Ganguly was at the acme of his career as a captain. Surely, it could not get any better than this.
A largely forgettable series against Australia in late 2004 handing the final frontier to Waugh's successor ensured that it was for everyone to see that Ganguly was losing his touch as a captain. Then the inevitable happened. Messiah turned manipulator. A new coach (supposedly endorsed by Sourav) did not quite like the demerit of a non-performing captain and in true Aussie spirit said it as much in a widely-leaked email. Ganguly did not quite like it but the statistics
also did not help much. The Aussie had touched a raw nerve at the right time. However, the fall from cricketing grace was responded to rapidly by going back to the basics. The domestic league's bowlers had to painfully endure the outcast's blistering form and before one could say Jack Robinson, Mr G was back where he belonged. A chastened Ganguly patched up with his coach and both coach and player set off for the Windies for the 2007 World Cup. A
largely forgettable campaign ensured the quick demise of Chappell's career with the Indian cricket team. However, Ganguly was blamed for India's rather slow progress in the match against Bangladesh in which almost the entire team had developed a mysterious inability to hold a cricket bat.
While the Indian ODI team redeemed itself in the briefest version of the game in Sep 2007 at one of its happy hunting countries, the writing was on the wall for Mr G's ODI career. Mr G bore this with rare fortitude and continued to do what he had been commanded to do from a "russian roulette" of captains - Dravid, Kumble and now, Dhoni.
As he stepped up to collect the Man-of-Match award for his match-deciding knock of 87 at Kanpur , Ganguly would have
been delighted to hear about the South African team manager recording his knock to demonstrate to the youngsters back home the finer points of a well-crafted innings patiently designed by a man secure in the after-glow of a career which had had more surprises than a top-notch roller-coaster ride. The second resurrection is well and truly over.
Only a brave man (endowed with deep pockets) would wager against a downturn in Ganguly's immediate cricketing
future but as Ganguly knows, very few are blessed with heavenly timing....whether in caressing the red cherry
through the grass carpet to the inviting rhododendrons or in bidding adieu when one is standing on one's own sporting Everest.
Dada, take your time to decide but decide wisely !
Reinstate Sourav as Captain
Sujoy Palit
21, Aashiyana Park,
Pune
After the World Cup debacle through my earlier write ups, I had demanded immediate sacking of the foreigner and the captain.
While the foreigner could read the writings on the wall and like a coward fled from the scene, we persisted with Dravid as captain.
Immediately after the departure of the foreigner from the scene, the performance of the team have improved drastically, I do not demand sacking of Dravid but demand immediate reinstatement of Sourav as Captain of Team India.
Recently I heard one of the very popular ex test player saying on one of the TV channels that if Sourav is in the team he should be there as Captain as always best in business deserve to don the mantle and Sourav is undoubtedly still the best in business (best captain).What an apt and timely comment it is.
Hope BCCI bosses take note of this!!!
Sack Chappel and Dravid!!!!
Sujoy Palit,21,Aashiyana park,Pune,Maharashtra
E mail: palitsujoy@rediffmail.com
While we are totally disappointed with the performance of the Indian Cricket team, we are really aghast to read that the coach is talking about "collective failure". Being ardent cricket fan and a close follower of the game, at least I so also millions of fans all over the country could understood well in advance why the foreigner could not get coaching assignment for his own country.
"As you sow so you reap" is the most apt comment at this hour of crisis. The responsibilty of total destruction of Indian cricket has to be solely and squarely shared equally by the so called high profile Coach, a spine less captain and all time "joker of jokers" in true sense Kiran More.
While the tenure of More will be go down as the most black chapter of the Indian Cricket history, the coach wanted persons who would be his henchmen and he got perfect combinations in Dravid and More and some non entities like Biswals, Chandrashekars etc. He kept on befoooling BCCI with "Vision World Cup 2007" thus concealing his actual mission of total destruction of Indian cricket. Ultimately while he successfully achieved the same he (Chappel) kept on carrying out endless experimentations, unwanted choppings, thus made the cricketers as pawns of the Chappel game, thus ruining the careers of Shewag, Pathan and Bhajji, must have made the life of cricketers miserable as the very body language of the Indian players suggested something very wrong in the team.
All is still not lost as ups and downs are the part and parcel of every body'slife, the need of the hour is to "bite the bullet" i.e. immediate sacking of Chappel and Dravid. It is really a matter of great shock that knowing fully well that Dravid is not at al a captainship material and coach has to settle some personal scores like his attitude towards Dada, Laxman, BCCI persisted with this duo and thus had to pay a very a heavy price..
While the need of the hour is immediate sacking of both coach and the captain and at this hour of crisis we must stand by our players who must be a very disappointed lot like us.
Sourav's Comeback in Royal Style
Arise Awake And Stop Not Till The Goal Is Reached
Rajendran
Hi Guys,
Why this subject,is the current performance enough for
ganguly, all of us know what his tears cost when he
not picked in middle of a tour and asked him to act as
substitute in a match for such a great performed
captain, now he has to prepare for the worldcup to
perform all the matches to score big runs, his target
should be very high, even though it is not necessary
to prove his performance for some body, since everyone
know he is a great alrounder. Scoring runs is the
only answer for the hurdles he faced. All the Best
Ganguly JI !!! you have the guts to make it for the
coming world cup.
Wishes to Bengal Tiger
Kalyanchakravarthi Mekala
Hi sourav,
Isn't it amazing?
To Make You'll Understand Our Fellings......
I'M A GREAT FAN OF OUR FORMER CAPTIAN
S.GANGULLY. MY DEAR RESPECTED SIR/MAM I'M REALLY GRATEFULL TO SEE THE
DATA STORED IN YOUR WEBSITE.AND I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT I CAN FIND THE
OWNER OF THIS WEBSITE SHOWING GREAT RESPECT TOWARDS OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL
ODI PLAYER AS WELL THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CAPTIAN IN THE HISTORY,AND I HOPE
OF BEING OUR CAPTIAN BROUGHT BACK IN ACTION ON GREENGRASS OF THE
GROUND.AND I''M REALLY VERY THANKFUL TO YOU'LL AS YOU HAVE KEPT THE
PRESTIGE OF OUR CAPTIAN....AND I HOPE YOU DO THE BEST AND MAKE THE
WEBSITE PECULIAR.
SAGAR MEWADA.
Our dada back among runs....
Its a great news that sourav-the royal bengal tiger is again in the
'hunting' form.
His grace and tenacity in the face of adversity were on view once more
at the Nehru Stadium as East Zone fought a grim battle against
North for a place in the Duleep Trophy final.
Now Mr. Chappell .....what do you think...? Royal Bengal
Tiger is roaring again...and its the right time to quit.
M.Tech(C.S.E)
Bhubaneswar
Orissa
A Poem For Sourav.
Hi,
Here is a poem for Sourav.
It is in Hindi, with a translation in English by my friend.
Hope you will publish it on your site.
Thanks
and BEST WISHES TO SOURAV !
abbhi
Click Here for the poem
Chappell Owes answers to Indian Cricket fans
Sujoy Palit
Pune
With
the defeat at the hands of depleted England side, white washing at West
Indies and dismal performance at Malaysia, time is ripe now to review
the performance/contribution of the Chappell to Indian Cricket.
All the planning, strategies and their implementations and all sorts of
non sense experimentations of the Chappell supported by the joker of
jokers – the ex chairman of the selection committee have started
paying very rich dividends. The embarrassing defeat at the hands of
second string England team, white washing at West Indies and dismal
performance at Malaysia have made millions of Indian Cricket fans down
their heads in shame.
Mr.
Chappell during your stay with the Indian cricket so far, you have
achieved the following:
- Formed a hate Sourav club and humiliated him in most bizarre manner
- Due to excessive experimentations almost spoiled the careers of Shewag, Kaif, Pathan
- Brought the fielding standard to an abysmally low level ( e.g. at least 14 catches had been dropped by Indians in Mumbai test alone against England). Today we do not have a specialist slip or close in fielders
- Got rid of Laxman and Sourav
- Shown the door once for all to Zaheer, Balajee, Nehra
- Out to finish the careers of the players who don't like to be your yesmen and henchmen as you like to be surrounded by yesmen and henchmen only- Shrishant perhaps is the recent example
- Converted
Pathan (once compared with Wasim Akram) to a mediocre medium fast
bowler with a bowling speed of 120/122 kmph on the pretext of making
an all rounder.
Mr. Chappell we never needed an all rounder at the expense of genuine express
fast bowler. - Epitomized yourself as a 'Vulgar Finger pointing' person
- You
set different parameters depending upon your likes and dislikes of a
person
e.g. for Sourav once injured, you laid down conditions that he ought to prove his
fitness by playing domestic cricket but you conveniently changed your own
doctrine in case of Yuvraj and Shewag. Do you remember? - Above
all you have made the life of Cricketers miserable with your
"Perform or
perish doctrine" without caring for the saying "Form is temporary but class is
permanent". Also you use your above doctrine as per your convenience.
If you happen to read this mail, Mr. Chappell what do you think - to continue further or to quit?
We do not find any reason for you to continue. If at all you decide to continue and we know you will continue as we know you have come to India with a mission to accomplish i.e. to damage and destroy Indian cricket as much as possible or is it due to any other reasons - mainly financial other than cricketing reasons?
For many of us Indians,
Cricket is like a religion and Cricketers are demi Gods to us, hence we
demand your reactions Mr. Chappell.
Last but not the least, Mr. Chappell – please note – Royal Bengal Tiger will roar again and mind it - once he roars, a coward like you and your cohorts will find no place to conceal.
Sourav - a few thoughts and wishes
Jaya Deb Roy
Tonight is the 4th October,2006. Its a sad night
for us Sourav fans. Sourav must be back from Chennai - we have not
turned on our television sets since last night. so we have
not seen any reports of his home coming . This is a protest - a protest
for the way the media is treating Sourav., the lion- hearted boy who is
fighting with every weapon he has .
last night when i heard from a relative that Sourav has scored three
runs against the reds i turned on the TV set and what did i
find on one of the most rich and powerful bengali news channel- an
interview with a reporter from a bengali news paper of the same
management. This man who has only become a house hold name through his
articles about Sourav - who has lately become a sourav baiter was
giving the suggestion that sourav should now go to Chappel and
humbly ask for his forgiveness and ask him what he should do
( probably on bended knees) . Further Sourav should leave bengal as he
is not getting good training here , and move to
bangalore or mumbai ( probably to be near Grg Chappel Rahul Dravid
etc ). And while he was saying this the gentleman had a big grin on his
face and the Veejay was so appreciative that it was sickening.
At that point I turned off the television set and have not turned it on
since.
and it is then that i decided that i shall write to your site .
what has happened ? Sourav has made low scores in two matches. do
we not know that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty ? don't we
see all our famous cricketers falling flat on their faces
repeatedly ? and still getting into the team ? haven,t we
seen the great Sachin , yes the greatest, having problems on consecutive
innings.
Then why this double standard for Sourav ? here is the most successful
captain of india - a guy who died for his team - thrown out
unceremoniously from the team he had created on
the slightest pretext, treated abominably beyond
all human decency by a scheming captain, a chairman of
selectors and a coach , and after all that sourav played
domestic cricket all through out last season and had a score which was
the second highest but still was ignored .All through that
time he was continuously made the centre of media frenzy and
board politics . the media was not helping him - they were helping
themselves . well everybody knows that !!
and the greatness of the man is that he still persisted in
playing cricket -the gentleman's game -. he tried to concentrate - he
concentrated and played - played quite good cricket quite often
throughout last year.- made centuries in Daleep Trophy, Ranji trophy
etc.
He was picked a couple of times in the national team . and both the
times he was dropped like a hot potato whenever he showed promise of scoring
big runs.
now Mr. More et al , before their term expired threw a crumb at Sourav
and put him in the worst possible team in the Challenger Trophy. and the
media cried that this is Sourav's last chance - and he has to
succeed in two inningses- well, sourav took the challenge- but
can any body promise that he will make good in two innings - no not even
the greatest can. Probability Theory says it is not possible.and now
after what happened every body is shouting that Sourav is finished !
No but that is not true- there is a mass of people that is called the
silent majority - and they are not saying that- i am not saying that -
neither are my friends and colleagues.
Sourav will play -as long as he desires - and he will succeed - one day
he will succeed- i am absolutely sure of it.
I am a senior citizen and life has taught me one thing and
that is that you always get what you want - if you want it badly enough
- and from what i have seen of Sourav - he wants to come back badly
enough - and he will come back and as long as he does not - I shall not
watch these stupid media programmes any more -
with sincere best wishes to Sourav- have a heart Sourav- you
will surely succeed - nobody can stop you- you will play good cricket -
you are a great cricketer - do not ever forget that -.
Sourav - a warm evening in Chennai
Prakash Srivatsan
Chennai
Vengsarkar and Raju for More and Chandrasekhar:
Mumbai
Eligibility ???
Manojit Sengupta
Can any body please let us know the eligibility of any selector or BCCI
administrator is more than that of a cricketer in comparision to Sourav
??
Sorry, not a single person in the entire universe with sound mind can
find one.
Don't know how can we say, our system is best or even good, where the
industrialists or politicians heads sports body. They don't feel that
they need to concentrate on their own job, for which they are there. We
may request them to focus on their areas. Not to pose nose in matters
none of their business.
The entire system is mostly responsible to spoil the spirit. They don't
feel to upgrade and ignore public sentiment. And any comment does not
hit them for change towards betterment.
OUR HUMBLE SUBMISSION TO THE POWER HOLDERS, PLEASE BRING BACK SAURAV
WITH DIGNITY AND DO JUST WITH YOUR ROLE.
We are still waiting
Soumita Debnath
The website is wonderful. I am Soumita Debnath, a MCA student and a BIG fan of the great leader "Sourav Ganguly" since 1996. In this tough time "dada" needs our support. I wish dada will come back soon to Indian team but it would not be easy bcoz of Chapell and Rahul.They r playing political games for their own benfit.Chapell knew Ganguly is not a person who will dance on his fingertips. Rahul can play the role best of a "chamcha".But i hope dada will come back by God's grace and his own ability.I dont watch any matches of India after dada was sacked.But I know he is a fighter and thats why I m still waiting for him. Best of luck dada. We really love Sourav Ganguly.
BCCI dictatorship
Kalyan Ghosh
BCCI warns Indian Players for speaking on favor of Sourav Ganguly They says Players cannot speak on Ganguly issue, it is a matter that concerns the selection committee and as a player they cannot give their opinion on any other player.
I am surprised to hear this from BCCI, so their Board policies are like this: if a players speaks against Ganguly there is no problem and BCCI can also tell Indian cricket lovers that the current Indian team players do not want Ganguly in their dressing room.
Is it not dictatorship? There is no democracy in Indian cricket and corrupted politicians and their pet dogs control it, I think it is time to throw them to Arabian Sea.
This is the BCCI cricket team not
Indian cricket Team. There are different guidelines for different
players for selection. Indian politicians never have any principal and
that reflects now in Indian cricket. They can sack anyone without any
cause as they sacked three selectors as soon as they won election.
They can back wrong horse for their own sake. I cannot support BCCI
cricket team.
Now a days every team have computer video analysis's to find out the week points of every player and then they plan to resist his performance. All experience players changes their style of cricket instantly to counter these plans. But most of the new comers fail to do so. A year to go before next World cup Opponent team management will plan to stop these young players at the right time and then Indians playing for BCCI team will be in such a position that they would not be able to perform to their abilities.
Hence, I am sure that Indians will not be able to reach World cup final.
Sourav's exclusion
Biswaraj Sen
At the outset I wish to express my heartiest
congratulations to you for developing such a wonderful website which has
the courage to raise voice against the wrongs.
However, I take this opportunity to express my dissatisfaction on the
attitude of the Indians who seem to have totally forgotten the heroics
of the true champion-Sourav. I personally feel that the champ from
Bengal neither got respect from the board nor will not get any support
from any part of the country, and hence it is our (fan of Sourav) moral
responsibility to boycott all the cricket mathces which does not figure
our Master-Sourav. I believe we should express our unhappiness in a way
that affects the finances of the BCCI.
Lastly, I want the internet media to participate actively to express the
unhapiness of millions and millions of fans like us who respect their
hero.
Kiran More & Greg Chappell - Curse for Cricket
Aniruddha Sen
Mumbai
Dear Friends,
"Guardian" article is not an isolated incident. A systematic campaign to
malign Saurav Ganguly is on for quite some time. Without naming names, he
was termed as "bad influence" on several occasions. Much more was said in
"in camera" selection meetings. Besides Chappel, his cohort Ian Frazer,
Kiran More and even Rahul Dravid have lend their voices to this campaign.
The BCCI, while not being a party to these assaults, has never done enough
to redress. A public insult can be rectified only through a public apology.
However, the BCCI, after issuing a "warning" to Chappell, considers the
chapter as closed. What transpired between the board and Chappell is
unfortunately not transparent to the large number of readers of the article.
To them, the insinuations stand -- and stand unopposed!
We are sadly mistaken if we consider these attacks as just some acts of
personal and mindless vengeance. Maligning Saurav is just part of a bigger
plot, initiated a couple of years back, to oust and finish him. The campaign
is hardly personal and was launched to serve some huge vested interests.
Chappell and cohorts, through their arrogance and ambitions, were just
hooked into the scheme - willingly or unwillingly!
Let us look back when Saurav took over as captain. The atmosphere was
clouded by the dark shadows of match-fixing and public interest in cricket
took a beating. Saurav didn't usurp power -- it fell on him, as there was no
other taker. From those dark and uncertain days, he pulled Indian cricket out
to stability -- and to glory!
During his regime, the Indian cricket pie silently grew. So much so that
India now contributes more than three-fourth of the global cricket revenue.
Unfortunately, sustenance of that huge revenue depends on viewership, that
in turn depends on wins. And India, never the world cricket leader sans a
few isolated moments of glory, cannot continue to win matches. It loses too.
Exit cricket's glorious uncertainity and enter the era of feel-good cricket,
just like feel-good movies. Win we must -- if not by hooks, then by crooks
and there is no dearth of money for that. And Saurav is perceived to be too
clean and too head-strong a captain to be backdoor-manipulated for the
purpose. So, go he must and therefore the plot thickens.
Ironically, the plot starts with scripts of LOSSES, right from the infamous
Nagpur green-top against Australia in 2004. And in next one-and-half year,
India would mysteriously snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
many-a-times, even when there would be no green-top. Saurav's indifferent
form (not uncommon for any cricketer who plays a long innings) was not the
only reason, but it did help the cause of the plotters to a great extent.
And possibly the end of this chapter was with the Videcon Triangualr Series
final at Zimbabwe against New Zeland in 2005. Barring miracle, that may be
the last ODI Ganguly had played. India started well against the dangerous
Bond and was at one stage strongly placed with 155/1 in less than 25 overs,
thanks to Ganguly (31) and Sehwag (75). But following the dismissal of
Sehwag, there was a sudden collapse. Only Kaif (93) stood firm, as India were
all out for 276 and eventually lost, as usual.
Rahul Dravid scored a duck in that innings. As it turned out, it was a
GOLDEN DUCK that catapulted him to where he is now. Had he scored 20 or 30,
India would have won the cup, breaking the jynx of 17 (or 18?) successive
final losses. Who would then dare touch Ganguly!
More next.
To
Mr. Saptarshi Sarkar / Mr. Angshuman Mukherjee
Thanks to both of you for developing such a wonderful website
for
Sourav. I'm wonderful to put my opinion in this website which
I'm
sure you will place after due consideration.
Regards.
Arup Ghosh
Kolkata
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is in response to the website which was created in
Septemeber
last year called " http://www.ihateganguly.com ".
" I can assume you've developed a website about Saurav Ganguly
--
the most successful Indian Captain so far in the Indian cricket
history , just to criticise him due to his temporary out of form
which happens with every cricketer. Mind it during his era India
was winning in almost every series. Even hardly trailed to draw.
But I've found you people are intersted to see that India
Captain is performing as a player irrespective of India loses.
Is
it an expample of patriotism????????
Now the Indian Captian Rahul Dravid is playing well like earlier
but where is the so called improvement ????
1) We beat Srilanka in our soil. That was not a new. Previously
we beat this team for many times. So what big difference we got
after removing Ganguly????
2) This was the first we could not beat South Africa in ODIs in
India. But this time they drew it. What improvement we have
done? Moreover Ganguly was not at all in the team. The result
could
have been much much better.
3) We beat Pakistan for the first time ever on their soil in
2004 under the captaincy of Ganguly whom you hate alwyas. That
time
we defeated them twice but we lost one match. But this time we
have
lost.
4) Against Englad we drew in test. Mind it England has not got
their best team this time. Moreover we have scared to face them
in
a grassy / bouncy wicket in our own soil even. This practice was
followed previously also Even today we are following the same
principle. Then what big difference Chappel/More/Dravid has done
by removing Sourav?
Mind it after one year the world cup will take place at West
Indies. Last time we made in the final. Just make a note that in
the forth coming World cup we won't make it in the semi final
even.
LAST OF ALL PLEASE NOTE THAT, IF WE REALLY WANT TO
SHOW THAT
WE ARE IMPROVING / IMRPOVED A LOT THEN, WE HAVE TO SURPASS
PREVIOUS RECORDS LIKE
1) We have to beat Pak in Pak soil -- we couldn't in
Test, but
we beat them in ODIs without INZI no SOHAIB/ no
MD.SAMI in Pak team.
CAN JOKERS LIKE MORE/CHAPPEL / DRAVID GUARANTEE US
THAT WE
WILL
SURELY WIN THE WORLD CUP? LAST TIME WE MADE IT IN THE FINAL.
SINCE
WE ARE PLAYING BETTER THAN BEFORE SO WE MUST WIN IT.
How Dravid is a great politican , just note it :-
----------------------------------------------------------------
Its no doubt he is a great batsman that doesn't mean he is a
great
Captain. In Pak series he chose to be an opener intentionally
for
the first two tests where the pitch was batsman's paradise. Mind
it, he had a mind in his mind that if Sourav opens and gets run
then it will be difficult to remove him thats why he opted to
open. REALLY HE IS A GREAT POLITICIAN.......... I can
remember
Sourav took intiative to include him in the ODI squad inspite of
his bad performances. He used to score in this manner like 13
runs
in 47 balls or 28 in 71 balls etc etc.
PLS NOTE IT WAS GANGULY
WHO TOOK INTIATIVE TO INCLUDE HIM IN THE SQUAD BY GIVING HIM AN
EXTRA RESPOSIBILITY AS A WICKET KEEPER. AND SINCE LAST 4 YEARS
DRAVID IS SCORING SENSIBLY DUE TO GANGULY WHO PUT HIM IN THE
RIGHT WAY.
ITS REALLY VERY SHOCKING! THAT DRAVID CAN'T RECOMMED
HIS OLD
FRIEND.
ITS A GOOD ATTITUDE OF A POOR INDIAN FELLOW WHO
HAS PROVED
HIMSELF " MIRZAFOR IN INDIAN CRICKET "
Arup K Ghosh
Present Indian Cricket
Animesh Mukherjee
Experts, news channels have been commenting about the illogical exclusion of Sourav Ganguly from the present Indian squad but as on date he has not been called for, instead new fresh young talents(who are yet to prove themselves for their state even) are inducted since our Selectors/Coach Mr Greg Chappel have given us an illusion that they are building up a squad with a vision of winning 2007 world cup.To them Sourav Ganguly is incapable to fit in their desired level & hence should not be considered.
Fine, if that is so, let's ask a question.
If India fails to win the World Cup in 2007 then what will be done to Selectors/Coach Mr Greg Chappel? How will they be penalized/punished for their conspiracy in trying to limit Sourav Ganguly's carrier which easily could have spread until 2007 World Cup?
Dirty politics - Few observations
Jayant
My sincere thanks 2 the creators of this yahoo group and the website
when it was needed the most.Though there r few yahoo groups on Sourav
(where urs truly is a member)but unfortunately the same are not
functioning as efficiently as this is.Its by pure accident that I
happened 2 bump into the main site and found out this yahoo group
accordingly.Once again thanks to the creators of this site.
Now coming to few observations that I have made in the past 6 months
or so in this great political tirade against our DADA here r few of my
thoughts & experiences:
1)The media (both electronic and print)has gone quite deep into this
on going controversy involving SG/Greg/Kiran but has they really done
anything 2 find out why the enemity has ever developed between SG &
More?More being at the helm of affairs has a definite say in the team
selection and has all the powers 2 overrule any preference shown by
either Greg or Rahul.But during the entire selection process for the
last few months his stand is also very forthright and he doesn't make
any bones abt it saying "in my tenure SG will never come
back."
Now the point is a person can only make such statements when personal
animosity takes over other responsibilities which he has been loaded
with.And we all are sure that this animosity is more so the reason
being SG always maintained Abhijit Kale is nt the offender.U guys will
b surprised 2 knw tht many a scribes r aware of the true story
actually wht happnd in the Kiran More/Pronob Roy - Abhijit Kale
episode.
The story goes like this...More & Co was paid a handsome amt by
Mr.Kale so that he gets a look in for a longer stint in the national
team.The amt ran in2 few lakhs.Then Kale was taken in2 the side for
the Bangladesh one day tournament(probably the TVS Cup in 2003)& was
played for 1 match only & then overlooked for the fortcoming
Australian tour being dumped permanently.But he has already paid the
crooks a handsome amt and that was not for playing only 1 match in
Bangladesh.Then Kale started threatening the so called selector(s)
(crooks) that he will open up the pandora's box.This created unrest
amongst the culprits & Jaggu dada was informed accordingly.2 save
their skin they themselves went 2 the media & claimed that Kale has
offered them money 2 get a place in the national side.Well they are
correct but partly correct....the offer was after a mutual
understanding and agreement and the amount was already paid a year
back.Poor Kale(though he is guilty)was victimised for all this and
Mr.Kiran More never ever liked the way the then Indian captain batted
for Kale.So he always wanted 2 settle a score and now with support
from Greg & Co.he is doing all this out of vindiction.
2)The other selector involved in this case our man from Bengal
Mr.Pronob Roy is now quite a regular in the local tv channels as an
expert.Never was he hurled with this issue either by the scribes or
fans calling over phone that whether More wanted 2 settle an old score
(the bribery issue) with SG.This is very surprising!!We would have
loved 2 see how Mr.Roy wld hv reacted 2 this!!
3)The way TeamIndia is handled by Greg & his support staff it seems
as
if he is the head master of an unit or a school.But this school is not
having children for a change but all grown up matured adults who I am
sure would retard back and revolt if the present way of handling
things contniues.Respect should come out of a man's deeds and not due
2 fear psychosis generated by him which actually thsi Greg is trying 2
inculcate in the side.Let me assure u just wait and see...even the
most level headed cool Greg's no.1 favourite Rahul might b the 1st 1
to lead this revolt when things would becoming unbearing for them.We
all should understand that this is not Manchester United run by
Ferguson where for anything and everything he takes a decision and
that is final.
4)Public memory in the sub continent is too shortlived.When things are
going good for India in the 1day version no1 wld raise a question.But
2 loses in succession the entire scenario will change and that would
be the right time to give these political leaders(Greg+More+others)
what they deserve most.You can be a very good technical,tactical
coach....but a coach who brings in division amongst the team,whose
presence is detrimental to team spirit should be shown the door
immediately.
5)Everyone knows how brilliantly SG batted in the last 2 innings in
Pakistan under that tremendous inhuman pressure.He always had that in
the back of his mind that one low score or an irresponsibl dismissal
his obituary is ready 2 b published.Also he knew tht he will not do
the same mistake which he tried by trying 2 hit off Murli(stump miss
by Sangakara in Delhi...rather will spend time in the middle 2 build
up his innings.And we all know these 2 innings should rank amongst the
best 2 innings technically SG has paid in the last few years where he
was middling the ball close to his body and playing it late.But the
political selectors had other ideas in mind.
This was a meeting that I had with SG at his place after all this &
mind you he is a man of steel.The kind of confidence the man has still
2 make a grand comeback is exceptional.I am sure most of us would have
by now gone 2 press and blew up the whistle as what actually went
wrong and who were behind all this.But this man will not do so atleast
not in the near future.Confidence is oozing out of him and he is sure
that no one can stop him in making into the squad as a permanent
member once again.
I want 2 end this long essay questioning about this Ranjib Biswal
cricketer turned politician.Can any1 throw some light how did he make
it to the national selector?The highest level this chap has played is
Ranji and Duleep and he capatined the India under 19 sqaud way back in
the late 80s.Other than this though he was a great talent at that
point of time he left cricket early and became a Congress MP due 2 his
father's connections.How did he then make 2 this coveted post where
practically he is doing nothing?
Thanks for all the patience in going through my long post.Heart 2
heart I am a very optimistic person and I will never be surprised if
we see in the summer of 2007 the TIGER once again leading the national
one day team in the carribiean isles.
Dada's boys did it
Bijesh Joseph
Hi dear all,
India Won the
series and again MOre-Chappel-Dravid are still in the safer side, rather
in the comfortable side.
Records are also
following...really a great thing to hear for a Indian cricket fan.
But one question remains
is whether this Team can still continue thier triump?
Media is telling
Chappel and co's experimentation and youth had done the change.
One thing I dont
understand is even if the media know the truth but they are not speaking
out.
If we analyse we
can very well understand that there is nothing so much done by these
three in India's vitory records. Dravid started his captaincy from dada
in SriLanka with two huge defeats. After that they had got a weaker
pakisthan side in ODI and got a bowling attack without Akthar/Sami/or
Kaneria. THen they got the weakest team of England ever played.
What else other
than Victories? (I'm not going to discuss about the test failures) I'm
not trying to reduce the greatness of the victories, but the other major
factors contributed to these victories apart from the weak opposition, are
not due to Chappel's 'confident'(foolish) experimentations, or Dravid's
'intelligent' (Defensive) Captaincy or More's 'daring'(corrupted) Team
Seletion.
Claps to Dada...
Its all done by Dada's boys
1. Yuvraj's
spectacular form
2. Pathans form with
both bat and ball (Now MCD claiming they discovered the all rounder in
pathan. )
3. Dhony/Harbhajan
4. Raina(At the last
matches. He was got selected in the squad in Dada's period since he is
talented)
5 And of course Dravid
as a batsman (Thanks to Dada since he retained him in the ODI as a
batsman)
Apart from these
three or four, no top order (which Chappel has still faith) or no youth
did anything.
What about his
experimentaions? He is trying to find some 'youth' to compensate Dada's
place both in Test and ODI. And I think now he is realsing the heat. He
included Jaffer to exclude Dada and was in vain and India went down in
Test matches now he included Uttappa in ODI. If he is trying to find a
replacement for Dada, he cant find. And the time is not to far that he
has to recall Dada, one of the best openers in the ODI.
Now he is in the winning
side. And there will be a down period, when his young boys face a strong
men side. Then they will feel the heat. Now the MCD are comfortable
since media is with them. But remember once thing, once they start
failing, they will be literally stripped by this media. MCD have to
answer them for destroying a team by Chappel's policy of Divide and
Rule. He should answer for his scams and under ground business with his
partner More.
Even if the
team is now winning everbody knows things are not going right
with Chappel. And the after effects..
Players
are not feeling secure.
Sachin is feeling the pressure.
Shewag and Kaif are almost
destroyed.
Harbhajan is struggling.
India's gretest spinner kumble is
out of the squad.
Laxman's humiliated by carrying
bottles in the field.
Zaheer's career is spoiled.
Nehra's hopes are shattered.
Balaji future looks grim.
Players who salute
and bent their knees to the coach has place in the team and will get
any number chances. (Sorry Sree, since i'm a Keralite i should be proud
of you, but 'real' Heros are very few.)
Apart from Dada's
issues they are things to worry about the actvities of MCD......
Lets pray for that
day..
Kaif's Charisma !
Pratim Guha Biswas
In the last 5 matches his average is 1.00 and in the last 13 matches
his average is hair raising 10.3 . Still this person has Greg chappell's
support while a person (Ganguly) with more than 10000 ODI runs in his
bag does not get a chance. Even though he is performing well in domestic
matches. It is not a hidden fact that Rahul dravid hates Ganguly's guts
or else he would not have said that Ganguly can come back if he
performs. Ganguly is going great guns in domestic matches but if he is
not given a chance in playing ODI matches how is going to perform.
All small talk.
Why they plotted against Sourav
Aniruddha Sen
Mumbai
malign Saurav Ganguly is on for quite some time. Without naming names, he
was termed as "bad influence" on several occasions. Much more was said in
"in camera" selection meetings. Besides Chappel, his cohort Ian Frazer,
Kiran More and even Rahul Dravid have lend their voices to this campaign.
to redress. A public insult can be rectified only through a public apology.
However, the BCCI, after issuing a "warning" to Chappell, considers the
chapter as closed. What transpired between the board and Chappell is
unfortunately not transparent to the large number of readers of the article.
To them, the insinuations stand -- and stand unopposed!
personal and mindless vengeance. Maligning Saurav is just part of a bigger
plot, initiated a couple of years back, to oust and finish him. The campaign
is hardly personal and was launched to serve some huge vested interests.
Chappell and cohorts, through their arrogance and ambitions, were just
hooked into the scheme - willingly or unwillingly!
clouded by the dark shadows of match-fixing and public interest in cricket
took a beating. Saurav didn't usurp power -- it fell on him, as there was no
other taker. From those dark and uncertain days, he pulled Indian cricket out
to stability -- and to glory!
India now contributes more than three-fourth of the global cricket revenue.
Unfortunately, sustenance of that huge revenue depends on viewership, that
in turn depends on wins. And India, never the world cricket leader sans a
few isolated moments of glory, cannot continue to win matches. It loses too.
just like feel-good movies. Win we must -- if not by hooks, then by crooks
and there is no dearth of money for that. And Saurav is perceived to be too
clean and too head-strong a captain to be backdoor-manipulated for the
purpose. So, go he must and therefore the plot thickens.
Nagpur green-top against Australia in 2004. And in next one-and-half year,
India would mysteriously snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
many-a-times, even when there would be no green-top. Saurav's indifferent
form (not uncommon for any cricketer who plays a long innings) was not the
only reason, but it did help the cause of the plotters to a great extent.
final at Zimbabwe against New Zeland in 2005. Barring miracle, that may be
the last ODI Ganguly had played. India started well against the dangerous
Bond and was at one stage strongly placed with 155/1 in less than 25 overs,
thanks to Ganguly (31) and Sehwag (75). But following the dismissal of
Sehwag, there was a sudden collapse. Only Kaif (93) stood firm, as India were
all out for 276 and eventually lost, as usual.
GOLDEN DUCK that catapulted him to where he is now. Had he scored 20 or 30,
India would have won the cup, breaking the jynx of 17 (or 18?) successive
final losses. Who would then dare touch Ganguly!
Rahul Dravid saying -- 'Thought we could scare England'
Pratim Guha Biswas
This is really funny. It is England who gave a scare to India. First of all a depleted side thwarted the English bowlers and the English bowlers in a pitch tailor made for Indian spinners restricted india to 323. Secondly, when the so called counter attack made by the indians started, Harmison and Flintoff reduced them to dummies who were thrown out of the field by some fine spell of fast bowling (Dhoni, Irfan and harbhajan ). The funniest point was when the GREAT tendulkar and captain took the first chance to get out of the situation they got themselves into. They took the light when 12 overs were left and only 4 wickets were left. I dont think this was a counter attack but only a failed foolish experiment by Dravid and Chappell. England emerged out the only winner out of this match.
Shame Dravid / More - U shd resign/retire
Naresh Paryani
First of all i want to congrulate you for this nice website on Ganguly,
Gaurav Bhardwaj
The reality strikes .....
Anuja
The task is really uphill for ganguly and it is going to be very very tough. But still all cricket lovers not just fans of ganguly should question the authority of Chappell in making statements the way he does and also his one point agenda of keeping only ganguly out of the team. On ganguly he says in a press conference at Pak that past performance does not count at all , whereas the same theory applies to sachin tendulkar. It is very obvious to everybody that Chappell just does not want Ganguly. The day ganguly landed in india after the pak series, the TOI and its news channel had talked about what all chappell did to keep ganguly out of karachi test also. every body must have seen it. Dungarpur after the pak tests has changed his opinion abt sourav and is now praising him to the skies. he wanted him to play badly for the ODI only to be put off by Greg.I dont think we Indians shld allow a foreigner to come to our country and dictate terms like this. It is a shame on us that we have allowed this to happen to our very own captain. Everybody knows that how australians are very proud of their country and their cricket and never in my wildest dream will I ever believe that chappell is here to help us to win the world cup and that too beating australia. We are going to live in hope of winning the world cup and then die in despair. In the bargain we would have lost a very good captain and a player and then it would be too late.I yesterday was watching zee news where abdul qadir of pak made a very interesting noting. he said that presently the current foreign coaches in the sub-continent esp. chappell and woolmer in their younger days while playing cricket had looked down upon the india / pak / SL and would never want to come here to play. not only them but many of other players also. they all had racist attitudes.&nb