I guess our dear OLD SURD NEVER GETS TIRED of making statements that directly/indirectly hint at Ganguly, even though WE ALL ARE TIRED OF HIS (SIC!)COMMENTS. Ganguly is not my favorite batsman, or bowler, or fielder or even my favourite captain, but I have to accept that he is simply the BEST Indian captain ever! No two questions about that.
Bedi was the one who said "Ganguly is a tried and tested failure" after Ganguly was picked for the England tour in '96. And, boy he proved the ARROGANT OLD MAN OF INDIAN CRICKET wrong!!! And, in some style too!
I respect Kumble, but the selectors know better. If he was really captaincy material, they would have made him the captain, since he is a "soft guy" who would have listened to the selectors, without any fights for a cricketer of his choice. The selectors prefer that too! But, Ganguly always goes by his instincts ans he is invariably right! He backs them like crazy and makes winners out of them!
He brought Bhajji out of the woods, and instilled faith in him...32 wkts against Aus would not have been possible without the captain's unwavering faith.
Mr.Bedi, will u please SHUT UP and stop blabbering just to satisfy your ego?
With full respects to Bishen Singh Bedi, I think he is very wrong on this count. I love Kumble, as a bowler, but he sucks as a captain. He has captained India briefly and has led Karnataka, but has not shown enough leadership qualities to be compared with Dravid/Ganguly/Laxman/Tendulkar etc.
The only reason Bedi said this is because he HATES Ganguly, which is unfortunate. People forget that India needed a HYPER-AGGRESSIVE captain to completely change the attitude of the "talented but laid-back" Indian players.
Also, Ganguly was the one who made the others believe that they can win without Sachin. Sachin is the best batsman in the world, but no Indian cricketer has inspired other players as much as Saurav. While Sachin won matches for India, Saurav empowered his teammates to win matches for India, which is the mark of a good leader.
Look at the list of players Saurav Ganguly has empowered, and who have flourished under his captaincy: 1. Yuvraj Singh 2. Zaheer Khan 3. Harbhajan Singh 4. Virendar Sehwag 5. Rahul Dravid(his best phase is under Saurav) 6. Md.Kaif 7. Ashish Nehra(if not for his injury, he is the fastest Indian bowler ever!) 8. Irfan Pathan.
When I said "there were batsmen capable of scoring anywhere between 300 to 500 runs", I was referring to present Indian batsmen. However, in the days of Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, Bedi and Venkataraghavan, Indian batting was very brittle and could get out within 150, 200 or 250 runs. Nevertheless, these spinners bowled deliveries that were unreadable or unplayable and batsmen many a times were totally clueless about the next delivery. Their spinning capabilities were phenomenal. Like the West Indies fast bowlers of yesteryears, these spinners operated as a quartet. Bedi, who bowled six different deliveries in an over and his bowling was a poetry in motion, had just 266 wickets when he quit the game, because those days fewer test matches were played and moreover he had to contend with three other quality spinners. Kumble has none of these qualities and is operating in an era and conditions that are totalling favouring him. If this spinning quartet was operating in the present Indian team, then they would have bamboozled every team, including Australia. Top Australian batsmen would have been on their knees.
Your thougth is very Correct as for cricket. one who had highest wicket taker for team, compaire with kapil because he played very less match. So Jombo can become finest captain.
Bishen Singh Bedi's comments are worth reading and I respect him for speaking glowly about Anil Kumble's achievements. I too would like to congratulate Kumble for equalling Kapils Dev's record. Whether Kumble would make a good captain is a highly debatable point and I have my doubts. Many cricket enthusiasts who are not that well informed may get carried away by the performances of Kumble, who is neither a genuine spinner nor medium pacer. Kumble is playing in an era where conditions were ideal for him to take wickets and there were batsmen capable of scoring anywhere between 300 to 500 test runs. Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar, Venkataraghavan, Raman and Goel were prodigious turners of the ball. With intense competition and fewer test matches, all the four genuine, top class spinners were forced to share the wickets, with none dominating and hogging the limelight. They were quality spinners, far, far superior to Kumble. If Kumble was born and playing domestic cricket then ('60s and '70s), he would no have made it in the team. Chandrasekhar used to bowl fast-medium stuff, spinning the ball viciously and the only Derek Underwood, was the only spinner who bowled faster.
I am extremely sorry Mr Bedi, ur comments are borne out by extreme jealousy and hypocrisy. U never find any goodness with our Dada. Sorry Sourav is the Best Captain of India. U cannot win matches with humility, aggression and spirit is required.
