Reality Check !!
Indian cricket has been mired in turmoil for sometime now not least the form of their captain. There are armchair critics who are calling for his head. As an article on cricinfo mentioned "it was Ganguly who walked in next, accompanied by plentiful boos from those geniuses in the stands who chose to ignore his near-10,000 runs for the national team."
But then if there was anything certain about the average Indian cricket fan, making all the right jingoistic noises its that their knowledge of the game and its nuances are fairly limited. How else would you term the racist barbs thrown at the West Indians in Mumbai or some of the abuse heaped at the other teams. Especially when you consider that the large number of these fans are enchanted by the "hit and giggle" cricket that is the one day international and would not appreciate the beauty of an absorbing hour of test cricket where although only twenty runs may be scored, you might get to see a more even contest between the bat and the ball and not the slug-fest that cricket has degenerated into.
It is time therefore for a reality check of sorts.
Ganguly has an ODI average of 41 overall and an average of 39 as captain. Compare this to Tendulkar's 44 overall and 37 as captain and Dravid's 40 overall and 30 as captain. For all clamouring for Dravid as captain this should serve as a wake up call. Ganguly alongwith Sachin has been India's best one day batsmen recent form notwithstanding.
Now on to the Tests where I was actually expecting a reversal of this. Ganguly with an average of 41 overall and 37 as captain doesnt fare too badly compared to Tendulkar's 57 overall and 51 as captain. Dravid on the other hand has 57 overall and 17 as captain. To be fair Dravid has only captained India in 5 tests. So you really cant go by those stats.
It is obvious that the toll of captaincy shows on any individual. What these stats tell you is that Ganguly has coped with it better than some other players. I am not even considering Ganguly's record as captain which regardless of what happens from this point onwards makes him India's best captain of all time. All players, great or otherwise go through a slump. It remains to be seen whether the team will stand behind its captain as he has done with them. It would be sad to see the legacy left behind by the Ganguly-Wright era tainted.
But then if there was anything certain about the average Indian cricket fan, making all the right jingoistic noises its that their knowledge of the game and its nuances are fairly limited. How else would you term the racist barbs thrown at the West Indians in Mumbai or some of the abuse heaped at the other teams. Especially when you consider that the large number of these fans are enchanted by the "hit and giggle" cricket that is the one day international and would not appreciate the beauty of an absorbing hour of test cricket where although only twenty runs may be scored, you might get to see a more even contest between the bat and the ball and not the slug-fest that cricket has degenerated into.
It is time therefore for a reality check of sorts.
Ganguly has an ODI average of 41 overall and an average of 39 as captain. Compare this to Tendulkar's 44 overall and 37 as captain and Dravid's 40 overall and 30 as captain. For all clamouring for Dravid as captain this should serve as a wake up call. Ganguly alongwith Sachin has been India's best one day batsmen recent form notwithstanding.
Now on to the Tests where I was actually expecting a reversal of this. Ganguly with an average of 41 overall and 37 as captain doesnt fare too badly compared to Tendulkar's 57 overall and 51 as captain. Dravid on the other hand has 57 overall and 17 as captain. To be fair Dravid has only captained India in 5 tests. So you really cant go by those stats.
It is obvious that the toll of captaincy shows on any individual. What these stats tell you is that Ganguly has coped with it better than some other players. I am not even considering Ganguly's record as captain which regardless of what happens from this point onwards makes him India's best captain of all time. All players, great or otherwise go through a slump. It remains to be seen whether the team will stand behind its captain as he has done with them. It would be sad to see the legacy left behind by the Ganguly-Wright era tainted.
3 Comments:
Call it intuition or watever..but I so knew that u wud post sumthin on this..:-)!!
Ganguly-Wright era ..if i cud call it has been sheer magic. Wat has happened...a 6-match ban is reely unfortunate.
But mebbe like they say..its a reality check for the captain too..ponder and get back to his golden touch!!
But 4 me...India performing well matters, be it Ganguly or Dravid, wint the series guys!!!
hmm.. The six match ban is not something new. His run ins with the ICC are not something new. What is disconcerting is the attitude of the general cricket fan. :)
dude...
if we use overall average as the parameter for judging, kapil and sunil gavaskar would be playing for ever!
ganguly has been performing pathetically for at least last one year, with only scores worth mentioning coming against oppositions like namibia, kenya and bangladesh. i am surprised that you say " ganguly's average of 37 as captain doesnt fare badly with tendulkar's 51 as captain". i guess, that tells the whole story.
finally, this is not just a loss of form, this is a slump. he is burden and is gone for good....i just hope the BCCI boss doesnt favor him over indian cricket.
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