I strongly disagree with the views. You can't change a captain just for nothing. Captaincy doesn't have a fixed tenure like a US President. He is doing well as a captain and he should continue. After Gavaskar all the captains we had, which include Vengsarkar, Azzaruddin, Srikanth, Tendulkar proved to be pathetic captains. And now we have a good captain and are throwing him away just for nothing. Just because public sentiments are against Ganguly or some powerful people don't like Ganguly, he should not be forced to retire. And if he is, then that will be a very sad thing for Indian cricket. It will be a mistake that we will have to regret about and won't ever be able to correct it.
Present state of Indian cricket is due to people like these columnists and the Indian commentators.
Sourav could be the most successful Indian captain but how much of that results is due to his own effort. For the number of people taking up cricket in India and amount of resources used, definitely there is going to be some result sometime. If you see in perspective India can be termed the Worst Cricketing Nation in the world if you compare the Input and Output. Sourav many times was at the right place at the right time. So do not credit hime too much. Obviously he was different from the earlier meek captains we had. But that doesn't make him great.
The problemseems such columns are based on sponsors requests to glorify players
RE:Mediocrity affects Indian Thinking.
by Suman Dasgupta on Apr 20, 2005 05:28 PM
I think we have seen the consition of India in the last two one day ers without sourav ganguly as the captain... was he lucky not to be in the team this time...????? please do not forget that the present bunch of sehwag, harbhajan and all are develpoed with a great contribution from the captain.. and lets not compare the cricketing infrastucture of australia and india... they can remove mark taylor bacuse os a steve waugh,, ian healy beacuse of a adam gilchrist....and steve waugh because of ricky pointing.. it is simply ridiculous if you start comapring the standards and class of amol majumdar or wasim jaffar with that of a micheal clark ... it is even worse than a chalk and cheese comparison... so lets not talk about what is not possible...
RE:Mediocrity affects Indian Thinking.
by Rajeev on Apr 20, 2005 05:17 PM
Hello Yogesh,
-- What are Kaif and Yuvaraj paying back ??? what has been their performance. Anyways these dummies were brought in since Sourav did not want Robin singh. Robin singh wud have won more matches than any of these and Sourav. So to whose account will you credit this losses.
--If you or I captain the Indian team, even we will win some matches. Since the nation of 1 billion follows cricket and there is so much of population. The problem is with people like you. You people expect such low standards. You deserve series losses like this.
-- Sourav does not drop many players because then everyone will question why Sourav is not dropped? Don't mistake this for he backing some players/..
--Just because Sourav wanted to come back in test team in Pak series in Pakistan , he drpped Akash chopra, made Yuvaraj opener, came back an performed zilch..two guys careers gone but dalmiya mama will always sourav babu...
RE:Mediocrity affects Indian Thinking.
by Yogesh Hasabnis on Apr 20, 2005 04:05 PM
Ok ! What you mean to say is that whatever success Ganguly achieved as a captain was sheer luck. So he was lucky when he beat the SriLankans in 2001 (with a team without Tendulkar, Srinath, Kumble). He was lucky when he beat West Indies in West Indies in 2002 after 26 years. He was lucky when he beat Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2001. He was lucky when he beat England in England in 2002. He was lucky when he drew the series 1-1 in Australia with one century and one fifty to his credit. He was lucky when India reached finals of 12 consecutive one day series. He was lucky when he helped India reach 2 ICC trophy finals. He was lucky when his team reached the World Cup 2003 finals. He was lucky when India won the Natwast Series in 2002. It's a matter of luck that he backed the right players like Sehwag, Yuvaraj, Kaif, Harbhajan during their tough times and now they are they are repaying by performing well.
By that, you mean he is the luckiest man on earth !! Your judgements are nothing less than RIDICULOUS !!!
the problem is coz of u stupid media people and some idiot ex cricketers who r virtually good for nothing pressure gets piled on hima nd and u make things even more tougher for him. I hope he comes back with a bang and shut all ur mouths not only coz India needs himf or another 2 3 years at least. India doesnt need dumb media ppl or those hopeless ex cricketers. India needs ppl who can win for em. not just sit and talk crap.
RE:the problem
by Gautam on Apr 20, 2005 02:38 PM
Yeah, I'm sure THAT's the problem! Nothing to do with the fact that time after time he can't even put bat on ball, or that he ALWAYS reaches out for rubbish balls bowled three feet away from his body without moving his feet so much as an inch (and thus getting caught in the slips). It's not that he's too stupid and stubborn to learn how to think, recognise, and improve from HIS mistakes. It's the 'pressure'!
There have been few good decisions and few bad ones. Selectors captians and coaches are not gods. And as far as young players are concerned we need to undertstan India is not australia. There is still is quite a big difference in the level of the domestic players over there and in India. The problem is u r lookingonly at the wicketkeeping option which went wrong. If we make players to wait they get frustated. Look at Wasim jaffer. There are so many other players who were made really wait and when they were given oppurnity they had lost their peak form. The problem is domestic cricket in India is still nowhere near the level of aussies. Australia A team can beat most of the top test playing sides. Not India A. Thats the diference. Because of this Selectors always try 2 cache in the young talent and give them time in international cricket so they get to compete and groom in highest level. Anyways, when u were talkin abour ajay ratra and parthiv patel we had no option. Dhoni has come in just last year. that was the major problem. I dont realy agree with you and we stilldont have anyone who can lead our side. Ganguly is still our best bet.
He has played his last game long back..now he should gracefully take retirement and should run his restaurant instead of coming & going of cricket field, while batting..
RE:this is the most
by aseem gupta on Apr 20, 2005 04:01 PM
This is the most foolish suggestion anybody had ever given in the article. The real problem is not that we all know but its the personal and rediculous views of people like you. If we are suffering from the tough time is because of the impractical comments of the commentrators and cricket fans like you and due to media.
i strongly think that he will not only comes back to the indian cricket but will overshadow others in the business.
I also believe that the problem lies at the very grassroots of Indian cricket. We have to make the domestic cricket competitive as PURA cup of Australia and make sure that the players are ready to land in the international era with optimum experience at the domestic level. This would require better layout of pitches and grounds in India that meet international standards (no wonder India performs bad abroad). BCCI should utilize their enormous funds in an efficient and constructive manner so that Indian public gets what they deserve so badly, a dominating cricket team. How is it possible for a country where cricket is a religion to not produce quality players. The only sport that 1.5 billion Indians are crazy for, the only sport that they play all seasons is not their best. I also believe that we need more competent and visionary selectors who have a very good idea of the game. I am surely not too hopeful of Mr. Kiran More. Coaches need to have a say in selection process as well. We also need to stop being overawed by under-19 players and should groom them better in the domestic cricket so that they have to fight for being in the national team and understand it's value.
