Bengal Tiger, Lord of the Off-side, Prince of Calcutta (Kolkata rather), The Secret Weapon are some of the names earned by none other than the current Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly. When I say ’’earned’’ I really mean it because Ganguly has gone through tumultuous periods in his career and still he is going strong. It is a pleasure to review such a great person.
Career :- Ganguly made his appearance in the Indian team way back in 1991-92. He was a part of the squad that toured Australia before the World Cup. But as we all know, it is a romantic dream to separate politics from Cricket. So he was sent back on attitude grounds. He had 3 really rough years where he had only failures to face.
But in 1995 he came back with a bang scoring runs thick and fast for Bengal. Then he forced the selectors to have a look at him but the irredentists were adamant. But thanks to Jag Mohan Dimly (who strongly backed Ganguly); Ganguly was controversially selected for the England tour along with another promising lad in Rahul Dravid in 96.
Came the Lords test and came the time for our man to prove his worth with all his flair, elegance and grace, Ganguly notched up century on debut. Then No wonder he conveyed a lot when he raised his bat for all the cheers from the Lords crowd.
After this knock, well, there was no looking back. Ganguly went from strength to strength and the crucial decision to make Ganguly open with Sachin Tendulkar in a one dayer against SA proved to be a turning point in his a career. He made great strides as a One day batsman and scored heavily. In 2000 when Tendulkar gave up captaincy Ganguly became captain and till now he has done a commendable job. He has a very good success rate in both forms the game.
Some Stats:-Ganguly averages around 40 in both forms of the game. Though off-late he has not scored much in the Tests, he has a highest score of 171 against Srilanka. In one dayers too, he has a high score of 183 against the same team. As a bowler, Ganguly has provided many a breakthrough, but this best one day performances came in the Sahara Cup when he took 5/16 against Pakistan.
Ganguly:
As a Batsman: Sizzling square cuts, Offensive off-drives, Lazy leg glances, lovely lofted shots personify his batting. He is a tremendous off-side player and probably the best in comtemporary cricket. His weakness on the leg-side is overcome by his flair on the off-side. That special ability to step out and loft the spinners over long-on makes him more versatile. It is really a treat to watch Ganguly step out for the spinners and loft them to the longest part of the ground. On the whole, Ganguly’s batting is more of timing and placement coupled with a good amount of power. Though he has been through lean patches, his ability as a batsman has never been under question.
As a Bowler:- Ganguly is the man with a golden arm. He has that uncanny ability to break partnerships. Basically a swing bowler, English conditions are best suited for him. Given the conditions and his short arm action, Ganguly emerges as an effective bowler who can pick wickets and at the same time control the flow of runs with his wicket to wicket bowling. No wonder, Sachin called him his secret weapon when he was the captain.
As a fielder:-Well, I personally feel, his fielding is really slapstickish. He has to improve a great deal in this area. His inability to be agile and quick makes his fielding look all the more ordinary. As a captain, he cannot afford to drop catches. So this is one area, where there is a lot of scope for improvement.
As a Captain:- Is Ganguly a good enough Captain? If that is your question, my answer would certainly be YES. Just check out his captaincy record and you’ll find that it is better than any other Indian Captain. Ganguly is not a person who leads by example but someone who motivates and encourages his players to do well. His determination to lead the team and commitment to improve makes him a better captain. More so, since the players accept him as a captain, He becomes the natural choice.
My thoughts on Ganguly:- What I like about Ganguly is his batting. His off-side game is a treat to watch. But I like the way he lofts the spinners. More so, Ganguly’s ability to claw out of a lean patch makes me like him more and more. I like this bowling too for the simple reason that he picks up wickets at crucial junctures.
But I personally feel, Ganguly has to improve a great deal as a cricketer. He is the only captain, I know to have sat out of a match on disciplinary grounds on 4 occasions. Yelling at decisions, questioning an Umpire, behaving in a manner a captain shouldn’t act are some of the things he should avoid. He has to have the mentality to control his emotions in any situation as a captain. If this does happen. Ganguly would emerge as an outstanding cricketer.
Conclusion:- Ganguly has crossed many a hurdle in his illustrative career. It is amazing the way he still keeps himself going so strong. With age on his side, he has a good 7 to 8 years of cricket left in him. If he keeps going this way, he would surely rank as a top cricketer. So keep it going, the Prince rank as a top cricketer. So keep it going, the Prince of Calcutta, keep it going is all that I can say.