His future in the balance

Sourav Ganguly is not in the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy. Does that mean it’s the end of the road for the former India captain? In cricket you can never tell. The tale of the Bengal Tiger might not be over yet, writes S. Dinakar.

Once again Sourav Ganguly stares down an uncertain path. The man comprehends much about ups and downs. Yet, he would realise that picking himself up this time could be hard, in fact very hard.

The beginning of the home season — if such a term actually exists today — often dictates the course for the rest of the period. The Dada finds himself dumped from the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy.

What does the future hold for him? Can he possibly hang on?

“I am good for two more years in international cricket. I will not quit,” Ganguly asserts with typical nonchalance.

His resolve cannot be doubted. His steely gaze reflects determination. He likes a fight, the sniff of a combat. Yet, is not age catching up with Ganguly?

The selection panel is looking at the future and the younger batsmen. Players such as Suresh Raina, S. Badrinath and Rohit Sharma are in the frame for Test slots.

However, at this point in time, are they ready to take over from some of the batting giants of Indian cricket?

“I think we will have to groom the youngsters gradually and not rush them. They need to be finishers. Sachin, Rahul, Sourav and Laxman are finishers. I believe they have some more cricket left in them,” says former India batsman and coach Aunshuman Gaekwad.

The Dada will point to his runs in the Test series in Australia last season as proof of his physical and mental fitness for Test cricket. He is invariably up for a challenge.

Ganguly subsequently had a lacklustre series against South Africa at home. He then was bamboozled by Ajantha Mendis in Sri Lanka. Yet, didn’t most Indian batsmen suffer a similar fate against the young Sri Lankan sensation?

Often considered India’s left-handed trump card against spin — Ganguly picks the length early, uses his feet and hits the ball straight and long — the Dada struggled in Sri Lanka. The Lankan tour and the subsequent debate on the Fab Four — whether it is prudent to club cricketers in such a fashion while discussing things as sensitive as their future is open to question — have taken Ganguly’s international career to the precipice.

With the selectors determined to ring in a few changes before the much-awaited four-Test series against Australia, Ganguly’s position becomes extremely vulnerable. In several respects he was a ‘soft’ target.

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are among the all-time batting legends. Dropping them from the Test XI would be a major decision with severe ramifications. To be honest, Dravid appeared to be regaining form towards the end of the Test series in Sri Lanka.

Laxman, actually, had a reasonable series in Sri Lanka, averaging just over 40 in three Tests. He suffered because of a tendency to look at the four senior and accomplished batsmen as the Fab Four rather than assess them individually. Even then, Laxman must have saved his Test place, at least until the beginning of the next series.

The axe could fall on Ganguly. The batsman, who impressed after a believe-it-or-not comeback, beginning in South Africa and stretching to Pakistan (in the home series) and Australia, now finds himself walking on a tightrope.

“If I were Ganguly, I would not take it as an offence. I would look at the positives. The selectors just want to try out a younger player in the slot for the future. By no stretch of imagination can you say Ganguly’s career is over. What if the younger batsman fails? Then you return to the same players,” Gaekwad points out.

He then asks: “Yuvraj Singh is not in the Rest of India squad as well. Will you say his Test career is over? He has had difficulties in Test cricket for some time now but that does not mean he cannot be a good Test player.”

Strange things have happened in Indian cricket. For instance, Virender Sehwag was not among the probables for the Test series in Australia. He then made it to the final squad and emerged as the only Indian batsman in the ‘ICC Test Team of the Year’.

Ganguly will be hoping for a similar turnaround but then, the Dada’s age, 36, is not in his favour. He has turned the clock back once, can he do it again?

“Age is not a factor, performance is. If Ganguly can perform, why not?” asks Gaekwad.

The former India captain’s tenacity surprised even the former India coach, Greg Chappell. “I have never seen him bat better,” the batting legend confessed in South Africa after watching Ganguly handle the pace, bounce and seam movement with aplomb.

His back-lift was straighter and a trifle shorter, his judgment in the corridor was impeccable. He got behind the line, absorbed the pressure, willed himself on. Chappell eventually left and Ganguly survived.

Ironically, what was once considered Chappell’s agenda — phasing out the senior players — is now being pursued by the Indian selectors. Chappell suffered because he was honest and outspoken. Actually, he might have made Ganguly a better and a more complete batsman.

Apart from his ability as an attacking left-hander in the middle-order, Ganguly brought with him a huge dose of aggression in the previous battles against Australia. He was the bold captain who looked Steve Waugh in the eye during the historic home series in 2001.

Down under, in 2003, he set the tone for an Indian resurgence with a counter-attacking hundred in Brisbane. In India’s Test campaign in Australia last season, Ganguly contributed his bit. He now faces a real danger of not being in the Indian team when Ponting’s men defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Even if the Indian selectors embark on a mission to build a team for the future — if the youngsters are not tried out now when will they be given a break is the line of argument — they would have to tread carefully. After the Indian tour, India faces two potentially demanding series in Pakistan and New Zealand. The batting line-up would require experience.

Ganguly’s supporters, not without reason, argue that the Dada has been made a sacrificial lamb.

The odds, at this point in time, are against the Dada retaining his place. But in cricket you can never tell.

There will be changes in the selection panel soon and the new selectors could see things differently. Ganguly might be offered a life-line.

The tale of the Bengal Tiger might not be over yet.