Sourav - To be or not to be?

So much has been said about the current Indian cricket team captain after the dismal performance in the Bangalore test against Pakistan that I am tempted in expressing my opinion about this. Of course, the views expressed in this posting are strictly mine.

Cricket in India is more of a religion rather than a sport. The microscopic attention that goes into this game gives such a magnified picture to the cricket fan that I have seen heroes in their zenith projected as zeroes in their nadir because of a couple of below par performances. But are these cricketers really so bad that they deserve this treatment? I don't think so. You need to be talented enough to play at the international level. It is just that the media and former cricketers (in some cases) project them as real life villains when they perform badly. The Indian cricket fan (includes me too) is a fickle soul who gets terribly excited or deeply depressed depending on the result of the game. If we win a couple of games, the good performers are projected as Gods and brought down the very next day they don't perform. India is rated as the 2nd best team and rest of the teams are looked down with disdain if a game is won. I pity the cricketers who perform under these public and media scanners. Guys, give them a break. As an ardent cricket fan, my suggestion to everyone is to take wins with a pinch of salt and defeats with a cube of sugar. We need let go this hypocrisy from our minds. A better idea would be to shift the microscope to other burning issues in the country among politics, economy or our social structure.

Coming to the Indian cricketer who is in the limelight for the wrong reasons - Sourav Ganguly. I agree that his batting form in test cricket is probably down in the depths of the marina trench. His captaincy has been above average to very good at times. Probably it is better than most former Indian captains. His philosophy and aggression is commendable. The loyalty he demands from his team mates is something we have not seen for a long time. But is his place in the team indisposable based on his captaincy?. I guess not. Cricket is not tennis where a team can afford a non-playing captain. But does he deserve another series or two? I think so. Give him some chances, but don't pressurize him. Do we sit with our fingers crossed and wait for the next 2 series, hoping that he will be back in form? No. The biggest problem we are facing is if we lose Ganguly as a player we would be losing Ganguly the captain too. The latter is more worrying at this point of time. We also know that our coach John Wright is ending his contract too. To recover from this double blow would take a long time. No one can bring about a turnaround in fortunes overnight. Currently, there are very few people in the Indian team who are captaincy material (according to me). The senior bunch like Dravid and Tendulkar wouldn't want this responsibility at this time. So what do we do? I think it is high time Ganguly, the BCCI and rest of the Indian cricket think tank realize the need for a captain in the future, who can carry on the good work done by the Wright-Ganguly combo. We need to groom this captain and start grooming him today. We know that the big four (maybe big 3 now :) ), Sachin, Rahul, Laxman and Sourav are going to retire at around the same time frame. We need to start preparing for this impending situation.

Ganguly might have past his prime and it is time for the selectors to focus on grooming the next person on the hot seat. But till then we might want to give Sourav a couple of more chances. It is time to be cognizant of the future but not panic about it. Being aware doesn't help, if the selectors don't plan and work towards it.

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