Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Real Come Back

The Prince of Calcutta, DADA, The god of off-side, The captain courageous...he has been given many names. Now the press has given him a new name, The comeback man. Everybody is eager to shower praises on him. Why?? Because he is the man of the moment. Because He is a success story.


But then what really brought this change. You can find quite a few reasons here. I don't agree with all of them. Especially the part where Ganguly says that the way he was ousted was not right and this motivated him to perform better. If that was the case, why was not he performing well in the first class matches, when he was kept out of the national team? His Ranji average was pathetic and his average in English county cricket was in single figures. Once when Laxman was kept out of the team in 1990s, he went back and scored 9 conscutive first class centuries. He was immediately brought back. Recently when Dravid was thrown out of the team, he scored a double century and a century in 2 matches. How can anyone keep these players out of a team after such performances?

When Ganguly was brought into the team in 1996, it was due to regional politics. Again when he was brought back in 2006 South Africa tour, it was because of his experience and not because of his performance (much like the way sehwag has been selected for the current Australian tour). When did his performance pave the way for his entry into the team? So to say that he is motivated to do well, because he was not treated well, is all rubbish.


Again his achievement in the Pakistan series has been great, but in the context of the series, it has not been significant. His performance in the test which India won in Delhi was nothing great. Scoring 2 centuries when the pitch least suits the bowlers and when the opponent team has actually just 2 good bowlers, can’t be taken as a sign of greatness. So I shall wait for his performance in Australia. I pray to god that he plays well. If he does, then it will be great for the team and for the cricket loving public. But more than anything else, if he succeeds in getting the man of the series in Australia (by helping India win the series there), he will become the true come back champion of all time. Till then let’s just wait and watch.

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2 comments:

Bivas said...

maybe that's why they say 'form is temporary; class is permanent'
performing well in first class matches after being dropped doesn't necessarily guarantee a splendid performance in international matches...I am in no way underminig Dravid/VVS's efforts but the fact remains that the comeback man Ganguly has earned his monicker by bettering his own records and in the pursuit benefitting the team.
After all, when has performances in first class matches made any difference to the jokers in the selection panel...even if thr is regional politics, who cares as long as the greatewr goal of the teams performance is achieved :-)

12/14/2007 02:06:00 AM
El Cexar said...

Maybe you're right to some extent...but for those who know the pain of having been ridiculed and ousted from teams with hurtful statements, can vouch that their determination can grow huge just to prove that you're not yet finished. It was evident with Azhar's comeback as well, though he went the unconventional way bludgeoning attacks (read Klusener), rather than showcasing his classy wristy shots.
Maybe it's because of the hurt & condemnation that Ganguly had suffered that, now it has culminated into his superb reservoir of mental strength.

12/21/2007 10:41:00 AM

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