This is a ludicrous reason. More is actually saying two things here.

1] Ganguly is being kept out of the playing XI by Yuvraj.

2] It doesn't befit a player of his stature to be a mere reserve.

The implication of the first statement is that Ganguly is the seventh-best batsman in the side, and that if Yuvraj was, say, injured, Ganguly would be picked. By that logic, he should be in the squad. After all, if someone gets injured on the eve of the game, you'll have someone who Ganguly would ordinarily be preferred to getting the nod over him.

The second statement is equally silly. The Indian team and management has paid much lip service to professionalism, and by that token, every player should be treated equally. Saying that a player is too big to be a reserve reminds me of those stories from the early years of the 20th century, when Maharajas would only want to bat, and would sent their servants to do the fielding for them. Ganguly, despite the nickname affectionately given to him, has shown no indication of having such an attitude.

So am I saying that Ganguly should have been picked? No. All I am saying is that our selectors insult the cricket-loving public of India by trotting out such silly reasons. The real reason probably is something that More went on to articulate after the bit I quoted above:

We are also keeping the future in mind.

Now, you could agree with that or disagree vehemently, but at least it's a valid reason.

In other notes, one random bloke on the street was shown on TV giving a vox-pop on the subject. He said:

They should not have dropped Gaurav.

Thankfully, there were no follow-up questions on Drahul's captaincy or Tachin's elbow.

If selection of a player is subject to his performance, then why Ganguly and why not Gambhir?

As per More, Ganguly was included as bowling alrounder. There were moments in the match at Kotla when Ganguly could have been handed the ball to show his worth. But he did not bowl. What happened to More's logic?

Ganguly's contribution in Kotla match was worth praising more for his attitude and support to fellow batsmen than just the runs scored.

hey.. whats happened to kiran more? why should dada be dropped. cant follow the logic. infact there is no logic. as one of us rightly pointed out, dada was selected as a bowling all rounder and the reasons now kiran more has given for dadas exclusion is very distressing to note.

how can yuvraj equal dadas class? well as things are headed now, i have strong feeling that dada may not be selected for pakistan tour and also yuvraj will fail miserably against quality pace and spin attack. think of saqlain, mushtaq ahmed, danesh kaneria and shoaib.. we all know that yuvraj is poor against spin.. dada is experienced and he has class and technique..

long live dada

In my opinion, Ganguly should be dropped because when he comes to bat the whole tempo of the game slows down. His strike rate is close to 30% even when the team is in a strong position, as it was on tuesday morning. He bats as if he is trying to save the game. Let us grab the game when the team is already in a strong position as Australia repeatedly does. Out Saurav! Sorry you have cricket attitude of the 90's. We need our team to have attitude of the Australian team, the attitude of the 21st Century.

This clearly indicates the Chappel's holding over the BCCI. That too, the irony is Wasim Jaffer is being brought in as replacement for Sourav. It is crystal clear that Bombay lobby have began to work. If it all one is to be dropped, it should be Gambir and not Sourav. Kiran More says he is considering the 77 made by Yuvaraj. If we see the merit, he is not given out twice for LBW and he also not play exceptionaly well as like Sourav against Murali.The selector's Agenda is "WE DONT WANT SOURAV".Only time should tell.

The decision reeks of only one things murky board politics. Souvrav was Dalmiya's protege and is paying the price for that. The selectors are under tremendous board pressure as their job depends on them. Consider two things
1) A middle order batsman ganguly replaced by Jaffer an opener ( coincidentally from mumbai, did Mr. Pawar have anything to do with this?)
2) The manner in which a senior professional who has done so much for Indian cricket has been treated. He didn't perform badly at all in the Delhi test yet he was dropped. An unfathomable decision...

People love hating Ganguly, and with a change in gaurd in BCCI, Ganguly is clearly on the wrong side of the line.
I think Ganguly shouldnt have been selected in the first place, but given his performance in the 2nd Test (with gritty scores of 40 and 39), he deserved to be treated with more respect than the way he was just brushed aside by the selectors. Wish BCCI and Indian cricket fraternity showed more character.

Our selectors at best are not known for their eloquence, while addressing the press and no one really knows what is in their minds, when they dish out such vague reasons. More is no different when it comes to this. Coming to the topic at hand, it was a sad end for Sourav. He did make reasonable contribution but in the end, his slow batting did not win any admirers. Even a couple of quick 4s on 4th day morning and a pleasing 50 would have made people think but he dragged his feat for too long. Ideally, Gambhir should have been dropped but that will mean, keeping Sourav in the pavillion and not many will take that easily. So, they perhaps took the easy route of dropping him. In Indian cricket history, not many have been dropped after making 40 & 39 and all the heckling from the crowd was very avoidable and not fit of a nation doing justice to their heros.
http://cricket4ever.blogspot.com/

A player scores 40 and 39 in a Test match, scores 159 in the Ranji match that was taken as a warmup, has an excellent record against Sri Lanka, finds praise for his performance even in cricinfo, and yet finds no place in the Indian squad for the next test on account of looking towards the future. How droll.

More has now played off Ganguly against two young players - Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh. And is looking to the future with 3 33+ year olds in the middle order, but with no place for a 4th such player.

So much for the new board bringing in professionalism in its policies. So much for unbiased selection policies that were now supposed to be in place. So much for the coach and the captain accepting the ex-captain who seemed to have made all gestures to integrate.

I guess More must have felt the need to show respect to Ganguly in so perverse a manner given Ranatunga's comments earlier this year.

Sad to see politics coming back again in indian cricket. ganguly didn't do much wrong to get dropped - more than his 40 and 39, the partnerships he forged in both the innings were quite crucial. given the nature of the wicket, he didn't get an opportunity to try his arm over either.
nothing wrong with jaffer getting selected - he deserved it, but why saurav and why not gambhir is what baffles me.
the pawar camp is surely making its presence felt. agarkar did bowl reasonably well, but why zaheer is still being kept out despite a brilliant domestic performance is another puzzle which is not so difficult to decipher.

Sourav Ganguly's sacking can be argued both ways: in favour and against.
He had showed some positive signs during his two knocks of 40 and 39 in the Delhi test. He might have been on a comeback trail. But again, may be not. So, how long should you persit with a non-performer? Not too long in any case. And not specially when other talented and in-form youngsters are waiting for their opportunity long overdue.
So, all in all, it is a fair decision. But pray tell why did Gambhir deserve another chance? In his entire 12 tests career his two best knocks have come against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe only. And in this series he has been pathetic. Let's hope Wasim Jafar will get a well-deserved return to the top of the batting order.

The decision of dropping Ganguly and brining in a Opener doesn't gell well with the reason given by the selectors. If at all they had to bring in wasim jaffer it should have been in place of Ghambir and not Ganguly. Ganguly had infact contributed with the bat in this match, and moreover he was not used as bowler when he was selected as bowling allrounder. They should have persisted with him for third test. I think he was selected in the first place just to please somebody. This decision of the selectors clearly indicates that Ganguly does not fit into the team india and clearly show the distate of the selectors.

saurav is bad for the team spirit and Camaraderie in the team..you could see the uneasiness amongst the players with him around...one could have turned a blind eye to all that is he is class act and is a bet for the future, which again is not the case.
Good bye Saurav and make things easy for everyone ....pack your bags

Talk about putting your foot in your mouth!

The guy performed admirably at Delhi. Not did he play well, but even more remarkable was the way he gelled into the team after the entire acrimonious saga that took place recently. This shows the guy's character and willingness to perform, and as a teammate.

Though I had my resentments against Saurav, and am a total Dravid fan, this time even I said - 'Poor Saurav, what more could he do?'.

And what sense does replacing him with an opener make??? If you are bringing in an opener, then oust the existent one. Imagine having 3 openers in your 14, for a home series. Ludicrous, to say the least. And, as correctly noted by Amit, if Yuvraj won over Saurav, what harm in keeping a reserve middle-order in the team? The matter reeks of prejudice and vendetta. Sorry Mr. Chappel, this one stinks!

The dropping or keeping Ganguly is getting more complicated by the day. I am a big Saurav supporter. But to be honest, I don't think that Saurav deserves a place in the Test squad given his performance this year. I remember seeing something like an average of 22 or so this year which includes a century against Zimbabwe.

Remember he is keeping out Kaif and Yuvraj who are probably at the peak of their prowess and need to be given a consistent chance to prove their capability in this form of the game.

The best way out for Saurav would have been to follow the Nasser Hussain example. It would have been good if the selectors had kept him for the third test match and then "agreed" with Saurav to do a Nasser. This would have probably been the best solution for the current situation.

The Selectors are doing their better job in recent days where every performing players those who have been picked are proving their spirits in the game.Many things have come success to the selectors where it is proved by india's recent win in the series.India has many talented players where they are waiting in the queue to grab a chance in the team and prove them.So the chance should go for the players who make india to win and it should not go for the players who wants the chance.
Even though Ganguly is a good batsman his batting in the test shows that he was playing for his role and it was not taking to the winning path.He was comeback again after few series to prove himself.But he saved him with his few runs.
So this the time for the selectors to grab many talented players and make the team as a unbeatable champions.Gud Luck
Thanks

The coverage of events events post sharad pawar taking over by cricinfo and by amit varma have been disspointing. Selection of three new selectors - i am still to find out if they have played ranji, resurrection of Dungarpur (best people say of him is his love for the game - most forget his shennagins as borad president), resurrection of Shivlal Yadav and beginning (or at least sharp increase) of regionalism (jaffar - Mumbai) in selction. Tally Dalmia's bad cricketing decisions, and there would be many, but I am not sure Pawar is not all set to beat him in three months. Tally dalmias good work and there is an impressive list (other than often touted commecilization of cricket). I dont see pawar getting anywhere near that.

Its sad to say the least :-(

Sourav deserves to be treated in a better way. I agree his performances in test cricket has been patchy but that is no reason to treat him in this way.

We should not forget that this guy gave back Indian cricket the glory after people had lost intrest in the game due to a string of poor performances and match fixing controversies. This guy deserves a honourable treatment.

Wasim Jaffer in place of Ganguly...inexplicable.In the domestic season Jaffer got his runs as a middle order batsman.I thought Gautam Gambhir was the guy who should have been worried after three consecutive failures.
Ganguly’s first innings 40 was very important,in the midst of the victory celebrations we forgot the mini collapse in the first innings.On top of that why they did not field a guy like Robin Uthapa as opener to groom him for the future.

Why are Indians so helpless and look at Greg Chapell for all the answers?
Mr President Sharad Pawar cannot market B.C.C.I like Mr Dalmiya, nor does he understand a ball (pun not intended) about cricket.
I think they should corporatise B.C.C.I.
They should ask the TATA’s to run it for 5 years.
They should pay the selectors instead of asking them to do a thankless honorary job and bring in accountability.
There are serious issues man.

At Last We Have People Who Stand For Saurav,

The man deserves better than what he has been getting lately.

Come on Mr. More Please come clean and give us a good valid reason for dropping Saurav and including an additional opener. You already have more than enough in your team (Gambhir, Shewag, Dravid, Laxman, Yuvraj, Pathan, Dhoni and now Jaffer).

You keep talking about the future, what is Agarkar doing in the team (he is a liability in the team, blow hot blow cold type of a player) and Zaheer sitting out waiting for that call which does not seem to be coming along.

Put yourself in Saurav's place and tell the cricket crazy Indian's what would your reaction be, if you were in Saurav's shoes (Please save the rants of "I would hang up my boots").

And yes Regional Favouritisim is a present day reality under Mr Pawar. (Mr. Pawar we all would appreciate if you can keep politics out of the sport we love and cherish)

Tough on a former captain who was just days before 'welcomed' back by the coach who also felt that the 'catharsis' that he has recently gone through seemed to have its effect...Like Sambit has written, sad not to feel for Saurav but then they had to give a long rope to Yuvraj (& Kaif, Venugopala Rao, etc) before deciding who'll take on the mantle of the Indian middle order for the next few years. All said, what would have been the selectors' reaction if Ganguly had scored big in this test?! Anybody's guess but the real damage was done when the 'previous set' of selectors - under the 'previous' BCCI - chose the team for the first test at Madras....

Its interesting to note that only the pro-sourav-in-the-squad people are posting comments.(But then we hardly have a reaction when listenting to something we already agree)

This is euthanasia for Sourav(okay it might pain him a bit). I mean, to see him grope and flirt when he's padding, run behind the ball like there's no tomorrow and not look a CAPTAIN in the field simply doesnt look good. We would rather not see him than see him like this.

His batting was also not really encouraging. Yes he did get some runs, but does it make you feel he's going to do something big soon? No, at least i didnt.

1 Dalmia should get busy strengthening the Bengal board.
2 Saurav should concentrate on Bengal team with a view to have 20 players who could challenge any International team.
3 Bengal should opt out of BCCI and form a team to play international cricket.
4 Remember, both Pakistan and Bangladesh teams are, after all is said and done, Regional teams!
5 Come to think of it, England is also a regional team from a population not bigger then Bengal!

All players, great or not, must exit the stage one day.

But as a big fan of Ganguly, I am very saddened at the manner of his exit. What rankles is the obvious lack of fairness and empathy towards one who gave Indian cricket so much.

One hopes that in private, Dravid has had the courtesy to have an honest chat with Ganguly and let him know if Ganguly still has an active role in Indian cricket.

Atleast this would enable Ganguly to make a decent retirement declaration if he so chooses, rather than be subject to further selection politics.

Goodbye Sourav, if this is really what it is, and thanks for all the memories.

I am surprised about the comments given by people abradacabra,Raj,sumit ghosh.I want to ask these people,are u played cricket any time.Do u know how to grip a bat.I think noooooo.Ganguly's contribution in this test is very crucial.he scored 40 in first innings which helped india to stop his early collapse.And jaffer,hey don't forget pakistan series is there.Inzzy,salman butt,sohaib
every body is waiting for khali dakhan dravid.And chappel is<<<<ulmar.What u think about agarkar before inzzy.So keep thinking about future,politics is not a game.U said taht dada's impressive innings is only against zim and bangladesh.U don't know about gabba(2002),lords etc innings. concentrate on ranatunga's comments.
I am very much thank ful to Pradeep ,Shubhodip Chakravarty etc those are givving a strong point against More.so friends let's wait for future collapse.Don't surprise if india lose 3-0 against pakistan.O.k bye......

ITS HI TIME WE MOVED ON GANGULY SHD QUIT GRACEFULLY HE HAD HIS TIME AND WE ALL APPRECIATE HIM FOR WHAT HE DID
KEEPING YUVRAJ AND KAIF OUT ONLY TO ACCOMMODATE HIM DOES NOT MAKE SENSE . HE HAS ALSO STARTED PLAYING FOR HIMSELF .HE BATS VERY SLOWLY SO THAT HE MAKES A 30 OR 40 TO REMAIN IN THE TEAM. THAT DOESNT WORK AMYMORE
BYE SAURAV YU HV BEEN EXCELLENT FOR INDIAN CRICKET AND WE WONT FORGET YU

Guys:

Remember one thing. Its about the team and the future of the team.

Talking about Ganguly and test matches::::

1. Ganguly averages 30 or lesser against WI, Pak, Aust and SA. That shows Ganguly is weak against Pace bowling.
2. Ganguly averages 60 against England but that bowling was without the current pace attack.
3. We are going to play a series against Pak, England and West Indies. All of them have pace bowlers who can deliver at 90+ an hour. If you have to put your own money...will you put it on Ganguly? Just get real guys.

Looking at his past records against pace bowling and his recent records against various teams, Ganguly cannot be part of the future. He is the oldest batsmen in the team. When are you gonna bring in Kaif and Yuvraj.

Tough decisions are hard to swollow. But it is a good time to make a tough decision.

On Ganguly's exclusion, I'm more and more convinced that whole saga is a 3 episodes story.

1. As BCCI has already planned for Calcutta one day against Srilanka, they are obliged to emotions of Calcutta crowd. Board being smart, do not want to get in to trouble, of that one day in jeopardy for crowd's ire. To appease calcutta, Ganguly was included in Test squad, a day before the game and Board announces this to press.

2. Now because they have included Ganguly in the Test squad, its stupid of Selection committee for not giving him a chance to play in the Eleven.

3. Now As climax of these episodes is already planned, they have to axe him substantiating with ridiculos reasons

Poor scribes! First they are led to believe that Ganguly is dropped for good, thus giving them the free hand to write some innovative invectives about the former captain when he was down! That must have been a welcome break from their regular monotony of reporting on the 'tu-tu-main-main' of Indian politics, sorry, sports! Gave them a sense of 'pawar' commensurate with their own self created impression of grandeur of a newshound [as opposed to the daily grind of the average hack] in their ability to foster mischief amongst the cricket fan'atics', playing the regionalism card with gay abandon to garner extra brownie points for their newspaper/website.

Then, after practically every 'expert' whose name we had heard [or not] had passed their judgement about Sourav's 'divisive' influence on the side, not to mention team chemistry, fitness, ability, age, commitment etc. he was selected on the back of fighting performances in domestic games. Poor spin-doctors had to go back, revising their earlier estimates, after sound- and video-bytes emanated from the dressing room and field about his 'elder-statesmanlike' behaviour, not to mention his fighting performances that clearly hinted at a coming back to his former imperial form.

After all that, the board has decided to let the scribes down once again! And in the confusion of the variety of reasons bandied about for SG's inclusion and subsequent exclusion, the board has ditched the poor hack, the ones who have stood by them through thick and thin, carried their message to the Indian public, whatever it might have been, and however contradictory it might have sounded from one day to the next!

So at last, I hope that our dear bylined and/or unnamed hacks who have contributed no less to this sordid story are now convinced at last about where they stand vis-a-vis the Board. I do however trust the infinite capacity of the 'spinners' in their respective grubby cubbyholes in different newsagencies to go back to their 'spinning' ways, pull out a googly or a doosra [the regular delievries having been exhausted]! If Yankee scribes can be made to 'fall in line' behind their monkey prez [and get embedded in the process], so can our harried sportswriters. They must realize that either way, it is a win-win situation for them. For, in the ultimate analysis, the final arbiter on such matters is the Indian public. And has there ever been a more ingrate, fickle and despicable group of individuals than the Indian cricket fan?

I feel Ganguly has been hard done by.
The selectors seem to be going the Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor way, leaving out an aging legend before his sell-by date became impossible to ignore. Let me play devil's advocate for a moment here.
It was inevitable that Ganguly would have to make way for Yuvraj soon, perhaps even in the next two series. As much as we would like to believe otherwise, we were short of an opener in this Test match, and had one middle-order player too many. Over the next 3 years V V S Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar are going to retire. If they do so at the same time, the Indian batting will be like the SL one- short known match-winners, future superstars still finding their way, and unknowns making a name for themselves. Dravid and Tendulkar may play longer simply because of the effort they have made all these years to remain fit. Look at the way they run while batting- slower than before but still competitively fast. One day, Sehwag may well have to come down and strengthen a fledgling middle-order, and two other openers will have to do a job.
In that light, this could be construed a good move. That does not make it better for Ganguly, or even the slightest bit less harsh on him.
If the selectors did this with the future in mind, they are brave men indeed. If they did so with politics in mind, they are no different from the ones that went before and that is a truly sorry thing to say at the start of a new administration. Either way, their timing stinks.
Let's assign responsibility where responsibility where power is. The coach and captain may provide opinions but they have no vote in selection matters. As much as conspiracy theorists would like to believe that the coach now controls Indian cricket, the reality is that the selectors answer to other masters, and if any will influenced theirs,those masters would be the ones to look to.
At least on the basis of the behaviour on-field and the statements made by them.There seemed to be no animosity between Ganguly and either of them. It's unfair to rope in individuals without clear indications.
If this is where it ends for Ganguly, at least he can walk away with head held high and dignity intact, letting his performance speak for itself.

The reason given for Ganguly's selection as well as the reason given for his drop are both silly.

The real reason for selection : Dalmiya

The real reason for drop : Pawar

I guess all of you guys have nit heard the full statement by the selectors.
1. With Sehwag coming back one of the middle order batsmen had to be dropped.
2. IMO it is fair to say choice was between YS and SG.
3. Based on current form, potential and fielding, they made up to go with YS. Fair IMO as it was clearly stated by them.
4. Now there are 2 back up middle order batsmen in team SG and Kaif.
5. Team management want a 3rd opener in sqaud as back up for the two coming series. Fair enough. 15 member sqaud havin 2 openers and 6 middle order batsmen makes no sense.
6. So jaffer comes in the team. No choice is between kaif and SG. Here selector made a brave call by going for future in Kaif. Also saves SG the humilition of fielding as SUB. Isn't that fair.
7. So please stop comparing Jaffer and SG. its actually SG vs Kaif n YS.
8. IMO its good that the phasing out of seniors has begun. othrwise after 2007 we would have a mass exodus like Aus in 80s n WI in 90s. SG was first to go because of bad record over last 2-3 years.
9. I do agree that SG has been treated harshly. But thats courtesy the ppl who forced him in the team agaibst wishes to team management.
10. Finally one ques no one seems to ask is y Jaffer. Y not Ravneet Ricky, Jadhav, Niraj Patel, Pagnis etc. That cld be a fair decision or mumbai lobby. Argue thr, do not mix it with SG decision.
sorry for long post but i thgt the debate is getting too rhetoric and not logical enough.

Let us first forget about what service a player offered in past and ceremonious exit and all. Just think in terms of performance who would you pick? Yuvi or SG? look at the performance in last 15 months. Yuvi obviously scores over SG and look at who can do better in next 15 months? Obviously Yuvi. So then dada must go and performance and fitness for use in future should be only criteria for selection. Can any sane person talk in terms of SG handling Shoaib, Sami, Flintoff and Harmisson? Nope.

Anothe rreason why SG is not selected is same as why Lax is not in ODI's. he does not fit at any place. There are better options.

I was initially livid at the selectors decision and had vented my anger on my blog.

But after some intense introspection and on reading Sambit Bal's article on Cricinfo I feel that Ganguly's exclusion is indeed justified and it would only be for his own good if "The Prince of Kolkata" decided to hang up his boots and instead concentrated on his cricketing institute near Salt Lake City.
http://paurna.blogspot.com

Our selectors have once again proved to be a buch of JOKERS (as once said by Mohinder Amarnath). Politicians should not be ruling the field of Indian Sports.We all know our performance in the field of international sports. Only in Cricket and Tennis we are respected by the international community. The guy who helped getting India back to respectable position has to go down due to the arrogance of some stupid selectors? How the BCCI justifies this? What is Kiran More's contribution compared to Sourav's?
More's avarage
Tests 49 64 14 1285 73 25.69 0 7 2 110 20
ODIs 94 65 22 563 42* 13.09 808 69.67 0 0 63 27
First-class 151 204 36 5223 181* 31.08 7 29 303 63
List A 145 100 28 1151 82 15.98 0 2 97 41

Bowling averages
class mat balls runs wkts bbi bbm ave econ sr 4 5 10
Tests 49 12 12 0 - - - 6.00 - 0 0 0
ODIs 94 0 0 0 - - - - - 0 0 0
First-class 151 245 180 1 1/18 180.00 4.40 245.00 0 0
List A 145 24 20 1 1/14 1/14 20.00 5.00 24.00 0 0 0

Career statistics
StatsGuru Tests filter | StatsGuru One-Day Internationals filter
Test debut England v India at Lord's - Jun 5-10, 1986 scorecard
Last Test Sri Lanka v India at Colombo (PSS) - Aug 4-9, 1993 scorecard
ODI debut India v England at Pune - Dec 5, 1984 scorecard
Last ODI India v England at Gwalior - Mar 5, 1993 scorecard
First-class span 1980/81 - 1997/98
List A span 1982/83 - 1997/98

Ganguly's record
Tests 86 138 12 5150 173 40.87 10591 48.62 12 25 658 41 58 0
ODIs 279 270 21 10123 183 40.65 13718 73.79 22 60 991 168 96 0
First-class 199 308 37 11956 200* 44.11 25 69 146 0
List A 375 361 38 13459 183 41.66 31 77 122 0
Twenty-20 6 5 0 114 36 22.80 101 112.87 0 0 1

Come on BCCI you can do better.

he should have gone long time ago. People need to rise above emotional stupidity and endorse indian cricket becoming professional unit, where only criteria for team selection is current performance and usefullness to team. Ganguly has been find lacking on both counts.

You know it doesnt matter who is the coach or who is the captain. All it matters is the politics of BCCI. Otherwise please explain the exclusion of Ganguly. As far as I know Ganguly's 40 in the first innings was much more greater than the 0 which this Yuvarj scored. Even if you add the runs which Ganguly and Yuvraj scored in this test, Ganguly has scored more than Yuvraj.

But unfortunately for Ganguly there is nobody in the BCCI from Bengal.

And also please explain the exclusion of Balaji. There is no one from Tamil nadu also in the BCCI.

Now that the bombay ( or should I say Mumbai) gang has captured the control of the cricket, there will not be any oppurtunity for people from the southern parts of the country.

Kumble will retire soon.
Laxman doesnt matter, he is like a joker. (Anyway they are not part of the ODI Team)

Dravid is from Maharashtra (ethinically). Jaffer, Tendulkar, Agarkar from Mumbai.

Shewag, Gambhir from Delhi.

Kaif & RP Singh from utter pradesh.

Dhoni bihar.

Irfan Gujrath.

Harbhajan Punjab.

If you are foolish enough to believe that Murali karthik will be part of this north indian cricket team, cant help much.

So this is a not an Indian Cricket team, this is a "North Indian" cricket team.

For Saurav-should-be-dropped guys out there: Imagine yourself to be getting long in the tooth and sitting at home after getting a golden handshake. After your best efforts you secure a new job with a small concern and keep working with a lesser utput. One-day your old company decides to employ you once again for their services. After a week there is a change of management there and they bluntly say that they are weary of 'carrying you' and you have to leave as your output - judged over 4 days aftr taking over - is inadequate.

Now there would be 2 issues here - 1) whether you deserved to be retained, and 2) whether you deserved to be treated so shoddily after years of service, irrespective of your present capabilities.

Most of us are agreeing on the first for Sourav. But does that justify the second?

Would it not be fair that once they had called you they should have given you a better chance to prove yourself? And if 4 days were to be the basis of judging a trusted former employee then would you not wish that the call never came?

Politics, Politics and politics that's the name of the game. May it be public life, sports or anything which has to do with exposure or money or fame.
You politicians have done a lot of damage to INDIA for your selfish reasons. Now is the time to separate politicians from sports so that INDIA can recover the lost glory. Come on Mr Pawar and your stooze Mr.More. Stop this and be honest. India is probably the only country where the sincere and honest people does not get their dues because the selfish and corrupt politicians takes it away. India has experienced it since independance. How long all of us will be sleeping? Can't we all wake up and protest?
IT'S A SHAME THAT A COUNTRY OF A BILLION PEOPLE CAN NOT PRODUCE A COACH AND HAVE TO LOOK FOR A CHAPPEL

I think Ganguly deserves a chance.He still is a viable option at number 6.Arguing that we need to invest in youth for the future dosent make sense since we also need to consider the present.
I think he can serve indian cricket for a couple more yrs especially in one days where he is one of the cleanest hitters.He can also roll his arm over in seamer friendly conditions.

Mr. Power, after his allocation to power recently, had loudly advertised fair play for Saurav. Is this 'fair' play? One and a half test match of whitewashing conspiracy later, I would consider letting a calf fight a hungry tiger fairer.
Now, what can I do? I am a minuscule supporter of Indian cricket and its prodigious son Saurav, and in that order. How much will my voice count? Not a bit. But I will lay down my protest nevertheless. I, as an ordinary cricket lover, believe that it is anarchy ruling Indian cricket now, much like a headstrong powerful feudal lord. Politics is ruining the blood of cricket much like a viral epidemic. And as my protest I shall henceforth restrain myself forcefully from investing my time, emotion, prayers and sometimes some money to the cause of Indian Cricket. Not because I am biased for Saurav Ganguly, or I don't want to stand by Indian Cricket (that I always will with all my heart) but only so because they aught to understand, you just don't kill a Gladiator. You also kill the clan.
More of my sentiments at http://ramen-bog-bog.blogspot.com

why can't people get it into their thick heads, that the selectors don't have to produce an explanation. they can say they have recently found ganguly to be an alien. They aren't answerable to india cricket lovers. they aren't answerable to no-one.

My first reaction to this is "Are you kidding me?!" What kind of dimwits run our Selection committee anyway? I guess the moron kind :-)
My mind is just swirling with questions - Is this end of the road for SG? If not then what does he has to do to get back in for Pakistan and England tours? However, if this is it for his cricketing career then how about a big round of applause and "THANK YOU" from you idiots?

To put this in perspective, SG has been the most successful captain for India with memorable wins in Pakistan, Australia and the best winning streak India has ever seen in WC 2003. For an Indian cricket fan like me and many others who have sacrificed countless hours waking up in middle of night to follow score on a slow website with text updates, missed classes and work, missed out on playing with our children just to see our cricket team play and who sometimes did not even put up decent fight, SG was a prayer answered. He taught us to win consistently and lose with pride, taught arrogant english and sledging Aussies a lesson and made me feel better being an Indian. And what does he get in return - ignominy. This is shameful and outrageous. I am disgusted. This is no way to treat our heroes. Steve Waugh gets an emotional and graceful farewell from a grateful nation and SG gets a kick on his butt.

-Tushar
http://tscali.blogspot.com

I am a fan of dada. But Sourav refused to see the writing on the wall for too long. The writing said two things: Work on your weaknesses, make your bat talk and your body speak when you field. Or hang up ur boots. He had an almost 4-year notice on this front. Being assured of a team place as the captain he chose neither.

That is the real core issue. The rest has been drama. One that I must admit to having enjoyed to a degree.

Seeing him field yesterday I was unwittingly transported back to the 80s and early 90s when people took an eternity to chase a ball, bend over, contain momentum, turn around, pick up and make a throw. In the new age of cricket that Australia (bless them) is fostering, this has no place.
Stripped of nationalistic and regional fervor, as a fan of the game, who would pay to see this dial-up equivalent of athleticism? One gets excited seeing feats of a Kobe, Ronaldinho or Henry. In cricket, of a Gilchrist, Kaif or Flintoff.

If you can afford a slow, aging athlete, its ONLY when they are creme-de-le-creme in some department. Think Inzi. Think Maldini. Think Jordan-3rd-coming.

India has to move on. No time for stupidity. Nor sentimentality.

Probably if they wanted to experiment for Pak series,they could have rested Sachin and played Viru in his place and asked Jaffer to open. This could have tested the openers and the ability of the others to handle pressure in Sachin's place..
They could have prepared a pitch with more bounce and pace to test the team

So selectors find VVS Laxman, Jaffer, Yuvarj, Kaif and Gambhir more valuable then Ganguli!

Indian cricket is used to this is not it? Otherwise Vinod Kambali would still be around competing for records along with Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguli!!
And Sandeep Patil would have been there along with Kapil as a memorable allrounder!
10000 runs are not enough for Ganguli to prove his worth for ODIs. Neither Kumble's 329 wickets for his worth!!
And Chappel's white color was better as a coach compare to Patil's proven record (Ganguli axed his own feet by recommending Chappel as coach).
So lets get used to it. It is going to happen again and again. For each Tendulkar/Dravid there are at least 2 who are victim of politics.

I wonder what the noise is all about is. Everyone keeps talking about Ganguly being dropped is unfair. We all look at one side of the coin, just his past records. But what about his attitude. I have heard people talk about Ganguly opening in place of Gambir but are we even remotely aware of what happens in the dressing room? Are we even aware that Ganguly himself may have refused to accept that position? It is one thing to back a player based on his past records and what he has done for the team and it is another thing to accept the player as he is. That is the reason SRT is still in the team, because of his attitude. In spite of low scores and even lower strike rates SRT is still valuable. However the case of Ganguly is plain attitude which is just not there. In fact the reason team India is a ‘team’ today is because of attitude. If the attitude is there everything falls in place and Ganguly is the obvious block to it.

It is strange and equally bizzare decision of the selectors whom Amarnath once rightly called a "a bunch of jokers" (now a bunch of political-slaves who were neither good as players, nor are decent logical rational beings). If performance is the yardstick, then why Gambhir was not dropped ? Why new-comer comes to replace an experienced player who has shown good performance, and holds good records. It shows that now the selctors suffer from colonial inferiority complex and submit themselves to this snob Coach's hit-list. Why the cricket-team-selectors are not selected from the experienced cricketers and former captains with excellent records ? Rather from these puppets of greedy politicians ? It is amazing and equally baffling to see this dirty politics in every area of our country.

Hey Mr Nova (who ever you are), You suck dude! I cannot stop myself from laughing my guts out after reading your comments on this team being a North Indian team... ha ha ha

The Big 4 of Indian Test Batting Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly & Laxman need to be replaced. They're all the same age and nto getting any younger. But they need to be replaced not at one big shot but steadily over 2 years or so ensuring that the team doesn't suffer. Right now 2 young batsmen Yuvraj and Kaif are staking a pretty good claim to that middle order. So 2 of the big 4 need to make place for them. Logically the 2 with the lowest averages say over the last 3 years. Ganguly was the first as he had the lowest average and Yuvraj the best claim. Who will go next will depend but the decision must be logical and clear based on performances.

So Ganguly should really never have been picked for this series. But speaking from the heart, once he was picked it was shameless and cruel to drop him in this manner.

Why doesn't More just say that Ganguly offended him in a previous life, just as Hughes told Dicky Bird when he was asked about why he was sledging Graeme Hick so much?

Jagadish - http://cricket24x7.blogspot.com/

Alas, The Indian tradition of ill-treating heroes abysmally continues. I'm reminded of two of our greatest ever sportsmen, namely Milkha Singh and Dhyan Chand (Dhyan Who?? anyone?!). The fickleness of the Indian masses never ceases to amaze me -- but I have to admit, the Ganguly saga has got to rate among the most farcical episodes in the history of Indian cricket.

Incidentally, why is it that in Indian cricket, these sort of shambles always occur MID-WAY through an imnportant series?

Anyone would think that the prime objective of the board and selectors is to make the players as uncomfortable and tense as they can possibly be before a crucial game.

First, the board buckles under public pressue and has the audacity to pick Ganguly as an 'allrounder' and then, after two vital and gutsy batting efforts, More has the pathetic weakness of mind to drop him from the squad -- citing inane and illogical reasons for his exclusion.

Another point I'd like to make is that the inculsion of Jaffer is not only an insult to Ganguly, but to the likes of Mo Kaif, Venu Rao, JP Yadav, Suresh Raina, Shikar Dhawan, Dinesh Mongia etc who have been busting their guts off to get into the test team... and then all of a sudden Wasim Jaffer, who has had no part in any of the core squad unity for years, waltzes his way into the side... He's not even young!

To be blunt, I wish the selectors had shown some balls. I'd have respected them if they simply took Ganguly to one side and said "Dada, we're building a team for the future. There is no place for you as a *player* in our long-term plans. We appreciate everything you've done for Indian Cricket and would be delighted if you still input your experience into Indian cricket -- wether as a youth coach or just gave us morale support."

Now, is that too hard to do? At least let the guy go out with some dignity, for Pete's sake. If I were Saurav, I'd be seriously tempted to throw away my Indian passport and join Bangladesh as a rogue player.

wonder who hates Kiran More more now? Dada's fans or Mian Miandad.
You could have done without this KM.
what a farce that Team India huddle, when the vibes within the team stink.
Thanx Ganguly for keeping that illusion for long.
will miss him.

Dear Amit

Another fine piece that deserves to be commented upon. But I will also refer to Sambit’s post on the main site ‘poignant end’ as well as your earlier one ‘power to the coach’.
These are emotional times where everything will be seen from extreme points of view. Bring on ‘wicket to wicket’ !
While we need to be cold headed a bit of emotion will seep through simply because some people are trying to pull wool over our eyes with the dirty business that is Indian Cricket. Let me take the pains to elaborate a little bit of the events to clarify.

At the time of dropping Ganguly from ODIs & sacking him as captain : Chappellway says Ganguly has to prove fitness and form to get back into team.

At the selection committee’s press-conference for the Chennai Test : Kiran More – Chairman says that Ganguly is included as ‘a bowling all-rounder, eh – batting allrounder’ instead of Zaheer Khan (wonder if he is on dope these days)

Before the AGM in Calcutta : IS Bindra in the PCA web-site lambasts Dalmiya for using, abusing Ganguly to meet his own ends and that in the ‘New Era’ that will not be the case.

Supremo Pawar’s pearls of wisdom : Supports Ganguly’s inclusion in the team and says “He’s one of the best allrounders India has produced”. (don’t whether we fools should laugh or cry)

2nd day of Chennai Test – Chappellway says ‘Ganguly is another mentor for the youngsters in the side’ and a part of the think-tank. He’s coming on ‘nicely’ and will be valuable with his ‘experience’.

What we saw on the 5 days – 1st inns – India 133 for 3 in walks Ganguly when Sachin himself is fumbling and held in shackles by Murali and co. Ganguly survives an ugly heave and a missed stumping, but thereafter puts his head down to help stich together a partnership of 120 odd with Sachin and helps Sachin in scoring that elusive 35th ton, (we saw what was happening with Sachin on 99) Ganguly gets out to a doosra the next morning and the team collapses. The lead is 60 for India (could have been the other way round) In the field Ganguly’s brains are picked by more than one at various times. But not required to bowl. 2nd innings early shocks and enters Ganguly again in fairly trying times. Dravid runs himself out (or does he want to put the blame on Ganguly this time). Stitches a partnership with Yuvraj of 85 odd in the evening and 4th day morning (where all wickets had fallen in the mornings previously). All of us who know our cricket will agree that he was more fluent in the 2nd dig and was hardly beaten on the 4th morning and soothed Yuvraj’s nerves on more than one occasion when he fumbled against Murali. Ganguly exits for 39 (at which time his & Yuvraj’s strike-rates were quite same) through another doosra. Enter Dhoni, exit Murali from the attack and enter Bandara. Merry making follows and the rest is a cakewalk. Though onfield contributions remain in the SL 2nd innings, despite one misfield of Kumble.

Post match press conference – The captain goes on to praise Ganguly amongst others for playing crucial part in the match at critical junctures.

Selection of 3rd Test (minutes after) – Ganguly chucked out of the window unanimously 7-0 by the selectors, captain & coach team (as reported by ToI). It’s said, he’s not needed in the team and cannot sit on the bench (read between the lines potential disruption of team spirit), etc,etc. but the carrot is held out ‘great player, can come back. Replaced by Jaffer an opening batsman to strengthen openers pool.

Through the chronological events a few questions arise:
a) Does Ganguly warrants a place in the team
b) If no, was this the way to throw a former captain (let’s not get into his greatness as a captain here) and player with more than 15,000 international runs and 34 international centuries ?

Now let us try to answer them:

a) No, probably not, after having groomed Yuvraj & Kaif for more than 4 years now and considering their talent it would not be fair to make them sit on the bench. But here is my next point, what about Kaif instead of Laxman. An inferior fielder again, definitely not in the 2007 scheme, and frankly 8 centuries in 75 tests ?? mark of greatness ?? No, or is that 281 going to remain like an ‘limitless’ debit card ?? So isn’t Laxman’s case another one for a ‘poignant end’ Sambit ?
b) This is the most vital point which raises uncomfortable questions about our cricket as I had raised during the wicket to wicket blog. The whole imbroglio starting post Zimbabwe, actions of Chappell, BCCI (this one or the earlier avatar), Dravid and his converted team mates all reek of a sham going on. Ofcourse, India has been winning a bit in the past couple of months against Sri Lanka, and that will sweep all else under the carpet but they didn’t win the ODI series against South Africa, and sterner tests are coming.
Let us face facts as they have unfolded in the recent past.
Chappell’s true double-face is out – ‘smells like sham spirit’. But his job is only half done. One half of the cancerous cells are out. Harbhajan & Sehwag is still going strong and GSC is alive awake and will not stop till the goal is reached. Is it this ‘power to the coach’ you were talking about Amit. Remember Chappell’s coaching stint in Australia’s Pura Cup days. Even his earlier wards have nothing great to say. Analogy - A Manager who cannot run a Branch is being made the General Manager of a company and such white-licking despots like Raj Singh Dungarpur continue to sing high praises, what’s new ?
The ‘pack of jokers’ continue in their merry drunken way. They are true champions of imperialism again, if this was an Indian Coach would they have listened to him ? Or are they just in awe of a great past batsman ? Hey we are talking about a current coach not a past great cricketer and what he is doing with the Indian Cricket team. No, no, but we are the 5 blind mice.
The current Captain and his comrades – This is the saddest part of them all. Most of the lot playing in the Delhi test had been with Ganguly for the last 10 years. If we remove the newcomers like Dhoni & Pathan (who also made their debut under Ganguly) none of the seniors or the stars had a word to say about his predicament. Have they forgotten how their former captain fought for most of them ? Has Sachin forgotten that five and a half years back when he bade a tearful farewell to captaincy, dropping it like a hot potato and see the still young Ganguly taking up the reigns and from the bottom 3 has taken them to top 3 in a span of 4 years and a small matter of a WC final ? All he can say is “No Comments” !
Has Dravid forgotten how Ganguly bear-hugged him after the series winning Madras Test against Steve Waugh’s Australians on that sultry afternoon in 2001 ? – All he can say is .. no ‘mum’s the word’.
And Kumble – Everytime he had to be dropped for an overseas Test, Ganguly made almost public apology at press conferences, TV shows for his exclusion though till England 2002 he was a below-par overseas performer – Mum again.
Probably, none of them can speak at the moment. Some of them are secretly enjoying the boot, that Sourav got, some of them are probably scared lest they got a wrap on their knuckles from the BCCI or the selectors or the coach. Some may even be disgusted at the turn of events over the last 4 months.
Are we expecting continuous and consistent performance from this bunch ? What precedence are we setting for the new entrants ? As the great Prasanna has reacted we are Indians and like to repeat history specially when it comes to treating our heroes.
I am sorry Amit this had to be a long one but spade has to be called a spade at times.
Synopsis ? Watch my lips, sorry these lines, keep this in your archives, Cricinfo.
Status quo, this Indian Team is going nowhere different. It will remain where it is, probably will slip back to where it was 6-7 years back and yes WC2007 will end up as a pipe dream and ‘Chappell’ will dance all the ‘way’ to the bank in Australia by then. Oh did I see somewhere he doesn’t even have a signed contract till now !!!

how if they needed middle order batsman they didnt selected dinesh mongia for his triumphs in doemstic and county ..and does agarkar finds spot ahead of RP singh and balaji and khan ,nehra...list continues...

Ganguly's place was questioned by the previous selection committee under JD/RSM, following dismal performances in tests and ODIs. Striped of his status, he was going to be judged as an ordinary player on an equal basis with Yuvraj and Kaif. The problem for Ganguly is that he had not distinguished himself in the two tests so far. He averaged just 28 (below Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dhoni, Pathan, Yuvraj). Both Ganguly and Yuvraj played crucial and timely knocks in the 2nd innings on a spinning track against a very good spin attack. Yuvraj who was expected to be weak against spin, had been as successful. Yuvraj though is a better option against a quality pace attack, as shown by his performances in SA ODIs.

Does Ganguly have a future in tests? I believe he is still a good player and should aim to keep himself available for selection. I believe the very best batting talent in India should be able to compete with the better players in world cricket. Yuvraj, Kaif, Gambhir, Jaffer etc are not close to that standard, but neither is Ganguly.

Furthermore, the overreaction in the media and agitation from fans and political parties does not help the team one bit.

The cold logic of dropping Saurav with future in mind is certainly valid as Cricinfo repeatedly suggests. Using the same cold hard logic, Dravid should have been dropped before WC2003, but the foolish SCG-Wright paranoia let him in as a WK. SRT should be dropped (1 century a year is not particularly a stellar performance, given that talented Kaif is waiting in the wing: Though Kaif is still using 1 or 2 spectacular innings to stay in the team). I wonder if cricinfo will strongly support SRT's axing with this cold logic as it did with SCG. Let us look at other deadwood performers in the team who should be dropped with future in mind. Why do we need a third spinner (Murali Karthik) in the team, who never gets into playing 11 anyway when we have 2 top class spinner in the side. The bigger story that people have missed out due to Ganguly is the dismantling of a good pace attack. I find it hard to believe that the selectors coach and captain seriously think Agarkar is better (talent AND perfomance wise) than Zaheer, Nehra or Balaji. Apparently all the latter three are fit but lost out to Agarkar who showed promise 7 yrs ago, but has nothing to show for it in spite of repeated opportunities (reminds me of Ravi Shastri).

Using cold logic with future in mind is the best way to go, but should be used selective against people you dont like.

Anything and everything in this world can change, except the BCCI. I grew up hearing and reading how dirty the BCCI politics are, how spineless the Indian selectors are and how stupid and laughable the zonal selction system is. Mohinder once called the selectors a bunch of jokers, and even though it was nearly twenty years ago, I am afraid things haven't changed one bit. The selectors are still a bunch of jokers. Only the names are different, but they are still a bunch of jokers....Chapell or no Chapell.

Make no mistake about it, I am not a huge fan of Saurav's current form. I never liked what he did in Zimbabwe, and I hated seeing him taking things for granted after the 2003 world cup. But one cannot change the history, he is still the most successful captain in Indian cricket, and he defintiely deserved a better farewell. Even a 5 year old kid will tell you it has nothing to do with his performance in the Delhi test, and definitely not because they were keeping the future in mind. If they were so concened about the future, why select him in the first place? What changed between then and now? I'll tell you what changed. The selectors who voted for him have gone. But even if you want to play politics, for God's sake at least dont make it so obvious.
It was heart breaking to see Saurav try to be a part of the team. I dont know if anyone else has noticed this, but to me it looked like everyone in the team has deserted him. Most of these youngsters were brought in and groomed by this man, and the very man was looking to see if anyone was going to support him in his troubled times. I am afraid no one has.

Eye on the future, my ass! Where is the back up for our spinners? Why aren't we bringing in the youngsters? Kumble is not getting any younger(BTW, I am a huge fan of his)?

Please dont get me wrong here, I love the way the Chappell-Dravid combination is working. What pisses me off is, Chapell saying one day that Saurav is the second mentor in the team(after Sachin), and he realizes his role and making full justice to it, Dravid praising Saurav for his application in the Delhi test...and the next day him getting dropped. And to add the icing to the cake, More's stupid, thoughtless comments.

One thing is clear, be it Dalmiya or Pawar or Chappell...Saurav is taken for a ride. And ofcourse he has to blame himself, he dug his own grave by opening his mouth in Zimbabwe and paid a huge price for that. But be what it may, we loved you all these years Saurav and the past few months will not change anything. We wish you all the very best in your future.

Dislaimer: I am from Hyderabad, not Bengal.

First up, let me confess that I am an ardent Ganguly fan. That said, even if I wasn't, this would be a terrible decision on the selectors' part. The man just played 2 solid innings in a test match we won. For those who've said-- this is his record the last 2 years... so what? Is he being selected on past record, as you so eloquently put it yourselves, or on current performance. In that case, what is his current performance? He held the team batting together, and strung together two partnerships which won India the match. As for getting out-- he got out to Murali, who is quite possibly the best bowler the world has ever seen. Big whoop! It's not like ganguly was clueless against him either, he grafted out solid runs.
Secondly, for those of you who are talking about strike rates-- shut up. It is a test match. You're meant to take your time. and a dusty kotla pitch isn't like perth-- you need to graft, not hit every ball out of sight.
furthermore, there is an appalling lack of respect shown towards a great of the game. and he is-- he is one of the best one day batsman of all time, and you have to admit that...

Okay, so how long is this banter gonna go on? Nothing will change it. There are many pros you can look at (eg. Matt Hayden,failiure in Ashes, thoughts bout lettin Matty go, then he plays DEFENSIVELY, manages to get a centurt-followed by 4 more)Still in the team. Ganguly, has been gettin his chances. It is not his performance or low scores that bothers anyone, but the manner in which he loses his wickets. Sure he has xperience with Runs in both forms, but that doesnt stop legends from goin into the fog(M.Taylor+S.Waugh)
The board is managed by jerks(but there is also a bit of resentment towards a White Coach). And they can't just let Ganguly in, or the Coach out, look at the wider picture. Come the England series, Ganguly or no Ganguly, India will evetually lose. The team is made up of chokers. When Peiterson, or Symonds or Scott, or Kallis or Inzi or Ponting or anyone plays, their teams wins. IF they don't manage, there is a backup explosive player. India has been losing matches that matter(do NOT forget the thrashing at the world cup '03). Fresh blood is needed,no doubt, the management is run by jerks who are presenting lies to Indian public and believing that it sells, but still, NEW blood is needed

Jai Hind!

toxicguy@hotmail.com

If India are to become number 1 in the cricketing world then hard decisions like dropping ganguly need to be made. I congratulate Chappell and More and the indian selectors for dropping ganguly. Yes Ganguly has done alot for Indian cricket, but his time to go has come. Australia are number 1 because they make the hard decisions (eg: Damien Martyn being dropped after the ashes)
if India are to become number 1 then players need to be picked on form and not status. The future of indian cricket is with its youngsters who deserve opportunities at the top level. Retaining Ganguly means indian cricket will never move forward, and india will have to settle for second best. Get over it India, this is for the best. this is for the future, this is so india become a power house in world cricket. THANK YOU ganguly for the years of service. You have been an excellent captain, but the time has come for Indian cricket to move forward and for India to be number 1...
Congrats to the indian selectors and coach. Greg Chappell is going to be India most successful coach. watch and see.. Finally indian cricket is finally making me PROUD. players being picked on form and not status is whats required...

This is a reply to: J.K.Agarwal ..
I'm sorry to say, but Yuvraj is much better batsman than Sourav at the moment. Sourav had his time, but is past that. One thing I'd like to make clear is that he's definately not a test player so what are you guys crying about. His average is like 40 and he's never went on to make a double hundred. Sooner or later he had to go. I'm really glad regarding the decision that the selectors made.I mean his 40 and 39 were so slow that it never once reminded you of the old Ganguly. And you're saying Yuvraj will fail against spinners? Look at Ganguly..got out twice against Muthai. The decision made by the selectors is definately better for the team. It's time for Ganguly to move on and for fans like you to stop crying over it.

well... if people think that dropping ganguly is unfair... let me tell u all one thing... laxman has been dropped more than anybody else though he was performing well... laxman was the consistent and class in australia and pakistan... in the pakistan series he was one of the leading run getters... ganguly has not got so many runs as many as laxman got in two series... yet laxman has been dropped and ganguly wasnt... it was all politics played by dalmiya... now its sharad pawars turn... i think it was better idea if they played ganguly in da same position and yuvraj in the opening slot instead of gambhir.... everything is fair in love and war.

People

I dont think the huge cry about ganguly's dropping makes any sense. Ofcourse i would agree to the fact that Indian tradition of giving a proper goodbye was done away with Saurav. For people who dont remember Allan Border soon after passing Gavaskars record was asked to quit. Something similar happened to Mark Taylor, Mark and Steve Waugh and this may happen to Shane Warne and Gilchrist also. One might think that Aussies dont have the courtesy to give graceful exit to their players but it happens everywhere even in India. Ravi shastri was dropped, Srikanth was stripped of captaincy and dropped after two seasons. What happened to Sanjay Manjrekar. My view in this whole episode is that dropping Ganguly was the right thing to do since he is not the same cricketer years ago and he is not a Tendulkar to stage a comeback. He may stage a comeback but does Indian cricket have to suffer by keeping performing players in the sideline so that a non performer could get back his form. Also I think the selectors as well as the board have goofed up in handling the issue. If they had their reasons like they wanted youth tell every one they wanted youth. Now they have allowed it snowball into a political issue. for us readers we can see and enjoy another great Indian tamasha.

The best way of lookingat this is to ask the question : Which international team would Ganguly currently get into ?

The answer to that quesion clearly indicates the basic soundness of the decision.

With respect to the way this was done, there is never a nice way to be sacked and Ganguly was not going to drop himself so the knife had to be administered somewhere, somehow and soon.

The fact is that he has held on to the team in a totally undeserved manner for at least 3 years now and his batting performances just do not justify him being in the team. He adds precious little in terms of fielding and bowling ability and the reactions of his former teammates suggests he was losing their respect anyway, As long as the team was winning he was being carried but to be a top team India has to be ruthless and weed out the dead wood and Ganguly is the deadest in the bundle at the moment.

Personally it must have been hard to take for him and the way it was done could have been more graceful but some reflection will show that the number of undeserved selections more than balances out the small number of undeserved sackings as far as ganguly is concerned.

I am NOT a Saurav fan. And when he tried to make the most of the spat with our coach, I lambasted him, Dalmiya and the Eden Gardens crowd for their behaviour. But this time, I think Saurav should be given a fair chance. Scores of 40 and 39 aren't that bad to be dropped. Someone here mentioned about Martyn and Hayden. One was retained and other was dropped by CA selectors, although both had a horrible time during the Ashes. So, I believe Saurav deserves a chance, atleast for once. And for accomodating Yuvraj, who has proved his ability, better include him and give Gautam a rest.

Hi all,

After the BCCI elections, Dalmiya said something on the lines,"Why not nationalize the BCCI when you want the politicians running it?"

With this is mind, lets look at the events with cold logic:
- Pawar promises to dump Saurav if he becomes the BCCI chief (or whatever)
- There is an ODI in Kolkata, and BCCI will lose its reputation and revenues if the match doesnt go thru or takes place in front of empty stands. Solution: Indian public ka banao bakra, select Ganguly.
- Match happens in peace.
- Pawar becomes the BCCI head
- Slam Bang, 3 selectors fired, and everybody knows why.
- Ganguly dropped despite a gutsy performance in the test. Notwithstanding the fact that the "allrounder" didnt get a ball to bowl. Also ignoring that these innings were in a great character. We will have news published on the front-page of SRT being given out to wrong LBW decisions, but not a mention in the media when our very own Yuvraj Singh gets out plump to Malinga Bandara, and is not given out. After all he is our future. We will also ignore the fact that our opener made some 5 runs in 3 innings. Awesome! We will say that Mr. Jaffer is picked on the basis of a gutsy double hundred in domestic cricket, not forgetting the quality of the team he made it against. Oh! I also remember that Ganguly made a 150+ alongwith some 5 wickets around the same time. But, then if SG were to stay, how will Jaffer, Bahatule, etc. come into the team.

Great! We show to the entire world what we are and let the world enjoy a comedy for free.

I am (actually : was, now) an Indian cricket fan like many people who stopped watching cricket after the match fixing scandal.

We the Indians present The Gentleman's game - WWF style, politicised prank.

Goodbye.

It is not good to compare two player at all. The importanant thing is that we should be talking about the qualification and selection criteria of the national selectors. If you have forgotten let me remind you that the three selectors were sacked the flollowing day when Mr. Pawar (Bombay) team management came into power. Those three selectors were replaced by three new selectors who never have playes test match in their life.
Also I would remind you that when old cricket player like Kapil, Gavasker, Persana, Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarker etc... find that droping Saurav Ganguly is unfair then we should trust them and more over they cant be wrong.
We all know how good was Kiran Moore was as palyer in his time.

If we are really the cricket fan then we should demand the high standard and selection criteria of the selectors. The current selectors should resign from their position when such wide section of the people of India including Mr. Pawar are shocked with their decesion.
The cricket fan of India should show their protest by bycoating the next test match at Ahemdabad. After all these bunch so called 'Five Wise' men are fed by our money at the ticket window.
It is no more the secret that some kind rivellary is going in the Indian team, which can not be kept quit for very long.

Jachpot, early-40's is not at all bad for a career average in tests (see Mark Waugh, Graham Gooch et al). And there are plenty of great test batsmen who never scored a double-hundred (Desmond Haynes,Ian Chappell, Colin Cowdrey and many more).

Finally, the selectors have have got it right. No reason would have been perceived "justifiable" for ganguly's exclusion by the pro-ganguly camp, especially Calcutta, for whom domestic heroes are larger than life. It is impossible for me to comprehend the raucous that followed the axing of India's former "non-playing" captain. Get a grip... 'only a hero paves way for another hero'... The only question that arises in my mind is did he deserve a better exit? And a simple answer to that is he had his chance!

Saurav has to believe the fact that his era is now over. He will remain as one of the greatest captain India has ever produced.

His aggression and passion regarding cricket were his divine weapon. He did everything one can do to build a good team mentality and unity. But he failed to improve his own performance from last 2-3 years. He failed in facing the short pithced deliveries and on improving his shots against the short ones. He is no more consistent and in todays' cricket one should always maintain the consistency. He had been given many chances and everytime he got failed. It would have been better for him to step down from cricket because if he has to survive than he has to score and remain consistent as what Hayden is doing after his failure in Ashes. He played a crucial role in the 2nd test against Srilanka, but he failed to convert his innings into big knocks.

I disagree with the statement which has been proposed by the Indian board of selectors. He has been caught by an freaking Indian politics. But still i have faith in him and i am pretty much sure that he will bounce back.

best of luck.

If nothing else, it has shown how Indian "kirkit" is still mired in the stinking cesspool of corrupt politicians and incompetent selectors. India deserves a hundred more Mores before they come to their senses!

Its clear, that politics involved in this Indian Cricket. I think now the problem is not for Saurav, the problem is for Kiran More.
Let him[Kiran More] answer to the press personnel questions.

Does anybody here realize that Ganguly was dropped for the 3rd test against SL.
The team for PAK and ENG are not selected yet.
He could very well be on that team albiet not as a captain who is already selected..

I would not like to see him in the ODI side unless he can bring his fielding / running level up to par..

He is not in the team as it is easier for the captian to keep Gambhir on the sidelines as opposed to Ganguly.. in the current charged environment. If that would have happenned then the blame would be on Dravid and Greg and they would have to deal with this during the test..
Now the blame game is shifted elsewhere leaving the team to carry on with the work at hand..
This is the most optimal solution...

Please try to understand "Logic" not in the way you feel "Logic" but in the way it is "Logic"

Saurav Ganguly being dropped!!!

The four letter sentence has evoked such polarized reactions from the local newspaper peddler to the Defence Minister! Lets come to terms with it - everyone knows that his time was near. He definitely does not have the fielding prowess of a Kaif or Yuvraj and currently does not seem to fit in the long term future of Team India however he deserved a better exit.
We have to come to terms with the new reality in International Cricket - past feats and contributions do not promise your place today. Kapil was used even after he expiration sticker was rusted, however a Steve Waugh was nudged out at the peak of his powers. However while Kapil retired quitely due to an injury Steve got to choose his own time to leave - to a standing ovation. That is what Saurav deserved, if he was to be permanently rested in the longer term interests of the team he should have been allowed his swan song. A last test (not series!) for him to leave it all in the field and walk off the pitch head held high, bat under shoulder to a standing ovation not just from those in the stadium but from those who watched him on TV as well. He should have left Test Cricket as he entered it - as a Maharaja!

Thank you Saurav for you were the creator of Team India and we cannot deny that, even if we wanted to...

OK Folks, I'm going to try to summarize what I've read so far and put in my 2 cents. 1. Ganguly should not have been picked for the test series (based on performance) in the first place, so the people who are cribbing about politics being the reason for dropping him should remember that it was politics that got him into the team in the first place. 2. Fact is whichever way you look at it, the future is all that matters (especially with the world cup looming) and Ganguly, despite all his (fans) support and dedication does not look like he will be a force to reckon with in the immediate future. 3. Anybody whose performance is suspect and is keeping out talent of the likes of Yuvraj and Kaif really is doing a disservice to the nation's cricket loving public's aspirations and to the sport in general. 4. Lastly and most importantly, I believe that results speak for themselves. After culling thru all the views and opinions of eminent and not so well known personalities on Cricinfo, the fact remains that in today's world results are all that matter and that my friends is the difference between the Indian cricket team of today and that of the last couple of years. Let the numbers do the talking before you complain....

Sandeep

Just to set the record straight.

If Ganguly has been dropped with the argument that he has passed his prime and is a non performer, can someone enlighten me "What is Ajit Agarkar doing in the team and Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji sitting out for.". This I would like to know.

Another issue arises now that Dravid has been hospitalized. "Will he be asked to prove his fitness by playing in a Domestic tournament or do we take his word".

And Mr. Pawar you being shocked about Saurav's exclusion from the team reminds me of you not being aware of Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin before you launched the NCP. And you keep saying keep Politics outside Sport's.

As an Australian who appreciates all people being given a fair go in sport, I have mixed feelings about Ganguly being dropped. It will be good to see the end of his big-headed arrogance and boring play, but the Indian side will be better off.
I once recall Shane Warne telling Saurav (he was bowling to Saurav in an Adelaide test match) that "fans don't pay to see you let balls fly past you - they pay to see that little guy [Tendulkar] play shots." This sledge led to Ganguly st:Gilchrist b:Warne a few minutes later, by the way. The reason I don't enjoy watching Australia play India is that we always win, and the Indian team is led by Ganguly who has them going so slowly that if they bowl first they never get to bat for 50 overs.
It's the same in Testmatches, where he comes to the crease and spends hours there getting precious few runs for hours like he's playing for a draw - even in the first innings!

Saurav Ganguly is old dead wood. He doesn't belong in test cricket in the 21st century and he hasn't belonged in one day cricket for a long time. I cannot believe that the political manouvering in Indian cricket has kept a player of his boringness in te side so long, let alone as the captain.

The boredom of watching India play under Saurav will not be missed by Aussie fans, and neither will his extreme arrogance - I mean he even makes Shane Warne look humble because Warney can actually back up his comments when he plays! So long Saurav, pity a great player like you got stuck in the early 1990s. We will miss the easy wins over India here.

My heart bleeds for Ganguly but my head says that the selectors'decision was the right one. Ganguly is known to be weak against genuine fast bowling, particularly against the short-pitched balls. He would have been a liability against Pakistan and England. Have we forgotten how badly he performed against Pakistan in the last series? I can still recall the contemptuous smile on Naved ul Hassan's face every time he sent Saurav's stumps cartwheeling!! Saurav has been performing badly for the past 2 years, with an average in the low 20s if you exclude Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. In fact, I can't think of a single match winning innings played by him in the Tests in the past 5 years, whereas I can point out several played by Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar. The victories over Australia in India and in Australia were largely due to Dravid and Laxman, with Saurav only shining in their reflected glory. It is absurd to think that Dravid and Laxman came up with sterling performances due to Saurav's captaincy. Yuvraj and Kaif are already 24 years old and if Saurav carries on for another 2 to 3 years due to his political clout, then these 2 youngsters will be hard done by. Now is the time to give them their due - Yuvraj in place of Saurav and Kaif in place of Laxman should the latter falter.

Hey.........guys jus remember.lets take yuvi is in the team against pakistan........the moment he comes on ,danish kaneria will be on to bowl and u will hv afridi at the other end and on the subcontinent there are on really quick pitches which yuvi prefers and there is no big movement in the pitches in pak also which favours ganguly.yes he may struggle against shoaib but he had a couple of months off n wud hv worked on it,,n he is a really gud bowler in early starts jus the right pace to move the ball...so a bit of foresight maybe..

Let me start by saying the reason Saurav was taken out of the squad was one of the worst I ever heard in recent time. I do respect Kiran More as a person and as a cricketer but as a selector and as a PR he looked like a lame duck and a deer caught in the headlight. First to select Saurav as a speciality batsman for the second test was a mistake. For the most part I do believe it was a big time politics which force them to select Saurav. I didn't believe Saurav had done anything special in his return to deserve a spot in the squad. And if the exclusion of Viru was a reason for the selector to include him then he should have been opening with Gautum and not used as a middle order batsman.
Secondly, I do believe Yuvraj deserve a chance to play as a regular in the test squad. Yuvraj is high energy person who I now would make a mistake of comparing to Jhonty. He is always on guard and is as good of a fielder as I seen India produce in a recent time.
Another question is why take Saurav out now? Surav did his job as a middle order batsman if you compare the score and his contribution to the score. There is no way you can justify selecting someone who averages 40 for the game and taking them out for not performing. He should have been atleast included in the 13. And what is the reason for saying that someone of his statue could not be played as a substitute. Representing your country should be an honor enough to play for your team. And he has enough experience playing against Lanka that he could have provided good insight into Lanka to his younger counterpart. Once Saurav was selected for the Lanka series he should have at least played the whole series and if he did not perform well enough then it would have been justified to decline his selection for the next series.

Don't understand why Jaffer's inclusion is considered a replacement to Ganguly. Jaffer's inclusion is a clear statement to Gambhir that his position is vulnerable.

As for Dada, no one seems to be suggesting a solution. Choices are to either drop Yuvraj or let ganguly warm the bench. Dropping Yuvraj is backward looking - he is in better form than ganguly and will be the backbone of our future team. As for warming the bench, it will still raise the same outcry, just directed at Dravid instead of More and cause even more distraction.

I like Ganguly and have deepest respect for what he has done for India. He has already cemented his place in history. He will be remembered no matter what happens. But if he uses politics to make a comeback, he will be remembered as a spoilt prince who took what he wanted. If he fights his way back or goes down fighting, he will be remembered as a tiger who earned every stripe. May the tiger win.

Even though I disapprove of the timing of the selectors decision, it is hard to miss the irony in the whole episode.

A pair in a domestic game that really mattered was good enough for Ganguly to prove his form and get back into the Indian test side. Does anyone, even with a iota of sense believe that it was his performance and not politics that got him into the team. Now we hear that he was dropped for reasons not cricket. Which by the way are exactly the reasons that got him selected into the team in the first place.

As a supporter of Pakistani cricket, I would love to see Ganguly come to Pakistan as part of Indian team. He should be easy picking for our pacemen and as a member of a visiting squad, he can only add to the confusion in the dressing room, affect team morale and make job easier for Inzamam and his boys. Indian problem will not be it's batting order but rather who will take twenty wickets to win a test match.

I am a Pakistani but still but still I admire what Sourav Ganguly has done for Indian cricket. I don't think he should have been dropped in the first place but if he had to be dropped then he should have been dropped in a respectful way. Indian selectors have disgraced one of their finest player and leader. It was Sourav Ganguly's aggression that made them win their famour test series against Australia. If Sourav is out of form then so is Sachin. Let's when Sachin is disgraced by the indian selectors. And as far as Yuvraj singh is concerned. I think He is an excellent player whose success ratio is 1 out of fifty matches. He has already been given too many oppertunities but I think this is his flare that is keeping him in the side.

The motive behind dropping Ganguly appears dubious not because of the action per se, but on the added evidence of the replacement - Jaffer. It is that which was seen as mysterious- or was it? - for talikng of openers, one can hardly fault Akash Chopra or S S Das were they to feel they've been hard done by, having never been given comeback opportunities now being offered on a platter to Jaffer. If the "team-of-the-future" argument is to wash, how does one explain ignoring younger options in favour of Jaffer?

Two ripostes - the first one is for a comment from an Australian called Dave: Isn't it interesting that when the Aussies sledge (and very nastily so), they consider it "a part of the game" - so much so that it has indeed become part of the game now. However, when a person like Saurav stood up and gave back as much as he got (and thereby gave the Indian team some much needed backbone), the Australians think of it as Saurav's "extreme arrogance". What is sauce for the goose has to be sauce for the gander as well, isn't it, Dave? And don't complain about "boring" etc. A team does everything necessary to win a game - isn't that what Australia believes in too. Do not forget Greg Chappell's last ball underarm throw incident.

The second one is for somebody called "Square Leg" - when there is a comment on Saurav's bad attitude, I am mystified. Everybody seems to agree that Saurav turned India's attitude around and made it into a much more aggressive unit. This is the primary reason India has been significantly successful during his tenure. So, what is this attitude you are complaining about? Were you a fly on the wall in the Indian dressing room and saw things for yourself or are you just quoting from Greg Chappell's leaked email?

Let us move ahead, by all means (with or without Saurav will really depend on Saurav himself)- I am sure India will do extremely well under Rahul Dravid as well but, for heaven's sake, let us not have this undermining of our heroes; we have so few anyways in our country. I, for one, will always respect Saurav for having turned the Indian team's India's attitude around and given us lots of pride.

This is not about dropping of one person or humiliating a great performer like Sourav or Sachin or Dravid. This is about the general attitude of us Indians in being such a miser in respecting our own fellow country men. We are still slaves to the White men who just plays around with us and destroys the bond between our own people at our land.

Dear Mr Sachin: You are indeed a legend but I am really sorry to say that you lack the basic respect for a fellow player. Remember, the white demon is just laughing under his nose. And I am almost sure the Great Legend Late Sir Don Bradman would be today ashamed of you.

Dear Mr. Dravid: Congratulation on your captancy. You are indeed the great wall of Indian cricket. But I am sad you sacrificed your most trusted friend for the sake of a white demon who will some day write another email..who knows this time it might be you.

Dear Countrymen, Please wake up and learn to respect your own fellow countrymen. Believe me this is the difference between the West (developed nations) and Us (still a developing nation).

Let every person every Indian perform to his/her best and let us encourage and support each of our fellow countrymen who may be our colleagues, classmates and teammates.

No White should have a chance to play around with the strong bond we have among each other.

Bande Mataram

Bande Mataram

I cannot respect the view you have placed here. Ganguly was dropped for the sake of the Indian team, not as some "White Demon" conspiracy. Shame on you for making these outrageous claims. Yes, there are injustices in Western countries, but the same goes for ANY country-including your own.

Well, we need to grow up.we, here, must have the ability to distinguish between sports,sportsman and sportsman spirit.Ganguly is dropped and the whole India is discussing, some in favor, some in against.The game should be kept above sportsman and any region particularly. we need to clarify whether we need India or W.Bengal or what else.It was crystal clear what has happened in the Eden garden event.Any one can easily say, how come for the first time India saw grass on the pitch and that too here in Edens.The slogans of bengalis - laymen, ideologist and all others univocally.the message sounded - Indian down,Maharaja Up.throw water to your own captain.Ganguly is a wonderful player but he had put himself at the wrong side of public sympathy because of only bengali's regionalism.Dada needs to show up in the field not through fan's anger and disgust.

It was really a shock to knw that after Kotla match Saurav kept out frm the 3rd Match. Kiran More..i have to ask him when he was in indian team hw many matches were there, whch india won due to his efforts????Then he has no rights in giving comments fr player like Saurav Ganguly, who is THE BEST CAPTAIN EVER for TEAM INDIA. I wud point that it was under his captaincy that TEAM INDIA emerged as a good team and it is continuing the same spirit as the foundation was made deep and strong. So I wud feel that selectors(who so ever are) first have to think that what they have done for INDIA when they were in the team, rather providing lame excuses fro selecting or dropping somebody from the team.
KEEP THE POLITICS OUT FROM SPORTS..Plsssssssssssss

All stats upto zimbabwe series, when all this gungho began...
TENDULKAR vs GANGULY
======================

2,2,2,39,19,11,2,67,93,9,123,6,2,4,47,19,16,74,18,78,82,11,18,37. ---- total 673

31,2,19,20,5,26,51,18,4,9,0,22,55,22,0,48,0,90,90,7,24,25,79,39,60. ---- total 746

The total of the first row is 673. The total of the second row is 746.

Surprise,surprise.The first one is the total of last 25 ODI innings scores
of the Indian great Sachin.The second one is of Ganguly - Mr.Bong(according to
a famous ex-indian cricketer).

Lets go through some other figures.

16,41,52,52,94,36,32,20,3,55,248,5,2,8,1,8,2,194.

16,101,2,1,12,12,21,88,71,40,57,9,5,45,77,73,144.

The total of the first(sachin's last 18 test innings) - 869 and that
of second(Ganguly's) - 774.

The stats include Sachin's 248 against Bangladesh and
Ganguly's 101 against novices Zimbabwe.If we take these two innings
out then we have 621 and 673 respectively.The first one is Sachin's
score,the second one of the "worthless" Ganguly.

What you people say ? If recent form is the criteria, should Sachin also be shown the door ? Why such extreme double standards ?

All these messing up happened not because of anyone else but Sovrav. A player who has not just scores to back him up but accolade from the Nation of bringing the game a step or two forward, he deserved a better farewell.
But the mud slinging he started did not hold his stature and as he lost that, past records, his weaknesses loomed. That made matters simple for selection. You have Ganguly, vulnerable to short pitch deliveries, tentative in footwork in one side. Yuvraj on the other side, knocking the door, a class act in the top of his form. Do you need great cricketing mind here to choose between the two ?. I dont think so.

The end hasnt loomed on him yet. Lets hope to see our Prince of Calcutta, the king of off-side soon in the Big stage.

Till then dont let the ugly game called Politics or the crime called Regionalism take over the Game called CRICKET!!

Ganguly has proven time and time again that he doesnt posses the leadership qualities to lead a side which boasts having some of the greatest cricketers in the world. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to name a few. Have u forgotten how his poor captaincy and ridiculous field placements had cost the Indian team to be on the recieving end of a humoungous thrashing at the hands of Australia in the world cup final. whats was the score again? 359 fwas it? How did the so called Prince of Bengal contribute in the final? Give it up ganguly, ur time is over. Despite all this, the Indian selectors have shown faith in him and have allowed him to continue to captian the Indian test team. After a poor string of performances, they had enough and sacked him, a decison i am very proud of. Make no mistakes my crazy fanatic Indians, there is no place in the Indian team for a team member who is self-centered and doesnt pull his weight. We need to continuALLy raise the standards so that we can genuniely threaten powerhouse cricket teams like aus and south africa and be the best damn cricketing nation in both the one day and test form. Its a position thats truly overs. Until we meet again, adios amigo