All very valid questions. But staying with the parallel, even though the reasons for the removal of Caesar might have been right, the manner of his removal was wrong. Caesar, one of the most valiant generals of Rome, deserved more dignity than being ambushed and killed like a common traitor. The Roman senate gave a lot of leeway to Caesar early on. Rather than nip the problem in the bud, they let it fester. And later, just clumsily assassinated him. The Indian selectors too, first gave Ganguly too much security, even when he had very long bad patches. And later, when he actually showing some form, clumsily ambushed him like a match-fixer. Just like Caesar, he first got more respect and power than he deserved, and in the end, didn't even get the dignity he deserved. What is surprising is that Rahul Dravid proved himself to be as capable of doublespeak as the BCCI office-bearers. In public, he praised Ganguly, but in private voted against him. Chappell too, in public, as if playing a cruel joke on Ganguly, called him a "mentor" for the team. In private, he played Cassius, masterminding the whole operation.

Mark Antony, addressing the people of Rome said,

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.

I come to bury Ganguly, not praise him. I think the reasons for dropping Ganguly are right - he doesn't fit with the plan, the spat with Chappell was irreconciliable, he started it by going public, having him in the team may lead to factionalism...etc etc.... justifications for the manner and the timing of the decision will seem as flimsy as Brutus' justifications for murdering Caesar. A decorated General deserves a dignified exit.

I always thought of Rahul Dravid as the guy who could do no wrong - pure as driven snow. He must be knowing that what is happening is wrong. If differences between them ran deep for years and years, his course of action is understandable. But from what all reports suggest, until the Nagpur test against Australia, the two were thick as thieves. Not just as a friend and as a loyal deputy, but even as an intelligent cricketer, Dravid will acknowledge the huge contributions Ganguly made to the team's resurgence and some of its most famous wins, not just as a captain, but even as a batsman. It was Ganguly who picked up the gauntlet in Australia with his century. It was Ganguly who marshalled a Tendulkar-less-Laxman-less India to a victory in the Kandy test after Dravid had been dismissed. It was Ganguly who, with a blazing 40-odd started the famed fightback with Laxman at Eden Gardens, which was later carried on by Dravid. It was Ganguly who scored a quickfire century keeping Tendulkar company in Headingley as India piled up a mountain of runs and Tendulkar inched closer to his first double century abroad.

He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill said Mark Antony.

Ganguly may have played all the cards wrong in the last year or so. He may deserve all the fury and contempt that Chappell and Dravid seem to have for him. But he also deserves to be treated with dignity. The right thing for Dravid to do would have been to take a stand and chalk out a clear-cut exit plan for Ganguly. Have a frank chat with Ganguly, and leave him alone with a gun and a single bullet, metaphorically speaking. Tell him that things have reached a point of no return, but that he still deserves to go out like a General. Give him a leeway of a few tests and suggest to him that he announce his retirement. Surely, they could afford to give him that much leeway. After all, there is no one literally banging on the door of the batting lineup like VVS was in 2001 with his dozen or so consecutive first class hundreds. If the selectors really expect us to believe that Yuvraj is in a 2001-VVS-esque pristine form right now, then they think we do not understand cricket. Even in this test, he was dismissed cheaply in the first innings, not understanding spinners at all, and in the second innings led a charmed life.

And if the selectors and Chappell are really serious about planning the future, they need to pick Kaif in the XI, or pick Venugopal Rao instead of Jaffer. It's been five years of international cricket, and Yuvraj is still just as clueless about even moderate-quality spin bowling. If you're telling me he is the best option, you've got to be kidding me. He is, however from Punjab, Bindra's state. And Jaffer is from Mumbai, Pawar's backyard.

SO what has changed? Ganguly was given a longer lease than he deserved because he was Dalmiya's blue-eyed boy. The same thing is being repeated. Chappell and Dravid need to realise that the problems with the Indian cricketing set-up run a lot deeper than just one Ganguly or one Dalmiya. They are so obsessed with removing him, that not only are they denying him the dignity he deserves, but also supporting lesser players like Yuvraj or Jaffer, who are being pushed in because of parochialism, as opposed to surer bets like Kaif and Rao. They are making a martyr out of Ganguly, just like Caesar, because now even his harshest critics have come out in his support.

I am sure Dravid realises all this. He ought to have taken a saner stand. Yet, if press reports are to be believed, he remained silent during the entire selection committee meeting, and let Chappell do most of the talking.

For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men--

Why, in the end, does it all boil down to "Who belongs to which state" in Indian cricket? Rhetoric as it may sound, I agree with Gaurav and have to say that history is indeed repeating itself. Over and over and over.
But I do not agree that Yuvaraj is a bad bet. He needs time. Yes, he has had 5 years but I don't recall him playing 3 series back to back to really get into the groove of Test cricket.
As for Ganguly, the bullet was Chappell. He bit it. And the death was slow. Sure, but slow. And it has come. As one of his long-time admirers, I salute him for his contribution and hope he does continue to be associated with Indian cricket. But also hope he learns from the politics that he was made a part of and does not subject others to it.

I have never been a Ganguly-fan, but I agree with Gaurav. He should have been given the option to leave the team on his accord.
Handing Ganguly the pink slip in midst of the tour will do no good to the mind-set of other players.

At last something sane after a day of reading histrionics. I agree with you Gaurav and while I see reason in the logic behind his being dropping, I found the mode reprehensible. Ganguly should have been given the chance of a honourable exit, that he deserved. I have not in past and may be even in the future ( although that seems rather remote now)agree with or admire everything about ganguly the cricketer. But the Man has given me many a moments of pure cricketing enjoyment, and any memory of his sublime timing, will now forever be tinged with sorrow for the way he was forced out. Leaving apart all greater consequences and implications I do wish that I, as just an ordinary cricket lover was spared this.

This is a very dangerous game that the new parochial administration team is plunging into. Headed by Sharad Pawar, a one tme Prime-Ministerial candidate and who I believe knows no better about Cricket than the common man, the future of the game in India looks bleak. It is likely that some genuine contenders may be ignored and some players from the right Zones will get a look-in.

Ganguly deserves to be in the team not just on account of his rich legacy as Indian captain in the past, he also desrves to be there purely on his cricketing abilities and the guts he shows on the field.

I have lesser respect for people like Sachin and Dravid now because they don't seem to have an opinon on such things or are just thinking of their own positions. Sachin in that respect is of lesser pedigree than Gavaskar or Kapil Dev. And Dravid is no saint from what it appears.

Gaurav, I couldn't agree more. Coming from you, it sounds even more appropriate.

The problem, Gaurav, is that a 'saner stand' often is a 'braver stand' in the minds of the lesser. It is seldom allowed to adorn the 'default option' field.

Hope Dravid at least had the courtesy to call him personally and offer a word of encouragement. I like Dravid more than most even now, but the elevation of his standing has diminished now.

Unless he comes out with a public word (or, straight talk to selectors) against the treatment meted out to a former torchbearer to his present seat he will never ever be able to take Indian cricket to even mediocre heights (leaving alone greater ones).

'Hollow foundations' are technically possible in Civil Engineering, but cricketing glory is better advised a solid one.

What followed after dear Caesar's death was corruption, civil war and bloodshed ( the killing of a 100 Senators ). I sincerely hope this will not apply in the present case. I agree with Mr. Narayan's comment and I hope to see Yuvraj and Kaif in the Test Team from now on.

The BCCI and the selectors seem to know everything except what their job is. And they sure know how to entertain the media and the people!!The selectors had us all stumped when they selected Ganguly for the test matches as an 'allrounder'(Even Ganguly would have been amused by that!).For someone under pressure to perform, Ganguly did play reasonably well in both the innings of the second test at Kotla. Then the selectors decide to drop Ganguly for the next match saying that it's not done to have Ganguly in the squad and not play him. C'mon Kiran More, who the hell are you trying to fool?? I am not a big Ganguly fan, but that was the lamest and the most unbelievable excuse I've ever heard.

I must admit that this did not come to me as a big surprise. Expect the selectors to do the unexpected and they rarely disappoint!! Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, you guys are great actors, but I'm afraid, these guys are better than you.

Give the common man on the street a chance to select an Indian eleven and I bet that, in all probability, you will get the best Indian eleven.

Know what, Gaurav, I think this is just perfect. This is possibly the best way for Ganguly to go... with the media for once taking up his cause, with people from all over the country vociferously opposing his ouster, with his contribution to Indian cricket clearly being highlighted (and not just the ignominous last three months). I'm sure Ganguly himself would have wanted to leave with his head held high, and that's exactly how he bid adieu in the end. He did ride into glorious sunset after all.

As for Yuvraj, the best paean for Ganguly and what he stood for would be to give Yuvraj his fair shot at the No.6 i.e. five-six test matches to prove his worth. He is the form player and the first in the pecking order for that No.6 slot. And only after he fails should talk start about Kaif and Venugopal.

Nice article indeed. Caesar's death also marked, ironically, the end of the Roman Republic, for which the assassins had struck him down. I sincerely hope that the same fate does not await the only sport that India can still claim to be world beaters.

Take a bow, Gaurav. Extremely well-written.
The decision to axe Ganguly has proved to be a masterstroke. Not for the selectors but, for Ganguly himself. I can hear the staunchest Ganguly-haters coming out in support against this unfair treatment.
Also Dravid's silence in the entire issue comes as a shock. Maybe, he is a naive captain. Maybe, he hasn't yet realised that captaincy is not just about field placements and bowling changes, but also about backing up players and fighting for them when they are going through rough patches. Sorry Dravid. You have a long way to go...

Well Said Gaurav,

I have always been a fan of Indian Cricket and will remain one. Tendulkar's technique, Dravid's determination and Sourav's spirit was something every Indian fan loved over the past few years. I would loved to see the three lift (at least) one world cup. Well...if wishes were horses ...

Ruing at the politics in sports,
Sandeep Pai.

I had posted a blog on similar lines comparing Ganguly to Caesar! I agree that Ganguly's ouster at this juncture will make a martyr of him and he will be absolved of his misgivings because of this. But i do have a differnt opinion on the future of India's cricketing empire!
My blogsite, http://anand-mind-spark.blogspot.com

Positively brilliant writeup. And all of it is not just rhetoric.

Sourav, if one may say so, lost a tactical battle. His tactic of coming out against Chappell in Zimbabwe was an error, and his selection in the team as an 'allrounder' was an error.

Dravid has bided his time and waited for the opportunity, didn't make too many false moves, and today has won the appreciation of many.He has the right tactics.

It is survival of the fittest. If Rahul is the smarter man, Indian cricket is better off in his hands. If Sourav did not make a dignified exit, it is because he made some errors that cost him that. Let us not jump to conclusions and say that Rahul is evil, or a backstabber. He was smart, where Sourav was not. And as fans it is for us to take on a Zen like quality, and simply watch while the cricket men dance their merry dance.

Yuvraj is a good player, but is highly over rated and Kaif, definitely is a better test player than Yuvraj.

And Sadagopan Ramesh, is better the Jaffer or Gambhir. He scored a century, broke his arm, was out of the team and was never looked again. They say that Ramesh has a poor foot work, but so is Sehwag.

And what is the use of a good footwork... walking across and
keeping your front foot in line with the Vass delivery for 2 consecutive innings.

The very fact that Jaffer has been chosen ahead of Ramesh says nothing has changed with Indian cricket.

"The right thing for Dravid to do would have been to take a stand and chalk out a clear-cut exit plan for Ganguly."

I think the choice was well offered to Ganguly and the matter was well discussed, *Privately* and *Silently* in the dressing room. But it was Ganguly who failed to understand himself and his form and brought the matter out to the public, leaving no other option for Chappel and Dravid than to slay him.

Well written..Of course, I was never a Ganguly fan, and always had great respect and admiration for Dravid. And Ganguly deserves to go after all. But he should have been allowed a more graceful exit.

I think the best thing for Ganguly to do now is to announce his retirement, that would give him some respect in the eyes of the public; and Dravid must contemplate something 'the green leaf should not laugh when the yellow leaf falls'..for the same fate might be waiting him ...history always repeats itself.

But I still believe Dravid is a gentleman...

First of all selectors were correct in dropping Ganguly reason being #6 position is too crowded and they wanted to invest in future. It is Yuvraj today and could be Kaif tomorrow. Wasim Jaffer is selected as one of the three openers and not selected in place of Ganguly. It is unfortunate that you seem to miss that finer point too :(
Last how is this a blot on Dravid's character? There have been enough hints already given to Ganguly when he was removed from the captaincy and also when he was selected as 'batting allrounder'. I am astonished that he still did not get all these signals.

Love the speech by Mark Anthony. The parallel is remarkable.

I have been always a "controlled" fan of Ganguly. Controlled in the sense that while I absolutely loved his strokes on offside, his beautiful timing, his passion and attitude(Baniyan utaro incident in Lords) and the way he lead his men, backed the potentially good playes at their lean times etc.

At the same time, I did not like some of his shortcomings like inability to play the ball in rib cage, not so sublime touch on leg side( honestly for a guy born in sub continent, its a sin) and sometimes a hint of insecurity.

And I totally agree that the manner in which Gangu bhai got ouseted was not that good.
Everybody agrees that Ganguly had to go, but not in that manner, they say.
But one must have to understand that Ganguly is still a force to reckon with in Indian conditions although not that strong, if you left him playing at one more sub continent match , there is a big possibility that he would make a century and then good luck trying to throw him out for another series, and then he will go on an away series and will bungle up as usual and there you have it, not so good result!. Ganguly is a kind of guy that if you give him a single bullet, he will try to take someone else out with it, not himself.
So in my opinion, nobody can patronize Ganguly and try to be magnanimous with him, You got to take undesirable people out while they are weak, not give them chance to become strong(Prathvi Raj Chauhan Anyone!!)
So I think though the execution was not the most
graceful one, it will be effective in long run.And if that has made Ganguly Hero and Matyr, then I think him and his fan should be happy about it, isnt it.

And lets not forget, after Ceaser's demise and some turmoil, Rome saw its best days under Augustus. So we will have to see wht dravid is : A Brutus or Augustus

Seriously good piece. The parallel drawn with Caesar was fantastic. I do hope, as someone said in the comments section, that Dravid had the courtesy to speak to Ganguly after the decision was made, else the implications make me shudder and make me very very worried about the future of Indian cricket.

I have a feling that you are contorting the facts to fit the story.It's all very good to fit the events to resemble a historical drama but you are doing a great diservice to Dravid by equating him with brutus.
I agree that Ganguly's dismissal was unfair and reeked of parochialism .But dravid has no vote in the committee even though he does have a say.Dravid was the one defending Ganguly during the whole Zimbabwe saga.We also have no way of ascertaning his vote in the selection comitee.Maybe he did not have as much leeway with the committee as Ganguly enjoyed with the previous one.
Kaif will never become a great test player.He plays across his pads and is always a candidate for the LBW.He too,like Yuvraj ,is not a great player of spin.If the selectors had an iota of sense,they would gave allowed him to play the next test and evalvauted his performance and come up with the correct decision.

Great post. And an excellent analogy. Let's hope it stops at that, though. Remember, the truly tragic figure in the play was Brutus - misled by Cassius and the conspirators, and then disgraced and murdered by Mark Antony. Dravid may be Brutus for now, but that's one tragedy Indian cricket can avoid.

wicketmaiden.blogspot.com

Gaurav,
Been following your personal blog for a while now. I've enjoyed the literary content on all your posts, be it your outrage in your post immediately after Manjunath's tragic demise, or your tongue-in-cheek posts on "football in the urinal" or "I'm the milk". My views tend to align with yours on most issues, but I have to say that this article, though rich in its metaphoric nature and comprehensive in its literary referencing, falls short, IMHO, on sticking to the facts. The strong underlying assumption that RD had a say in SG's ouster this time around, is something that seems baseless to me. I have been following most articles on SG's unceremonious exit that have appeared in MSM/ on the blogosphere, over the last few days. Have I missed any news report that validates this assumption?
Arun

Gaurav ,
"Dont attribute to malevolence what can be explained by incompetence". Yuvraj has been knocking on the doors of the test team and there is a legitimate case for his inclusion in the team . Likewise to explain away Jaffer's inclusion as a case of parochailism does no justice to him either. There are too many incompetent people in Indian cricket and it is true that Ganguuly deserved a far more dignified exit, but I think you should hold off making innuendoes of regionalism and treachery without knowing the facts.

Oy vey. Nice effort, but I believe, a deeply flawed analogy! To begin with, Shakespeare's Caesar and Brutus had about as much to do with the real men as Lagaan has to do with the freedom struggle. Furthermore, Ganguly is not a Caesar, neither by personality nor by accomplishment. At best, he has been a stolid campaigner, and a genius at organizing support and getting the best out of his troops. Actually, a lot like Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Who, if you recall, would not let go, and forced Caesar into civil war, and eventually met an anonymous end at the far eastern shores.

Also inconvenient for this analogy is the fact that Rome entered into its grandest era shortly thereafter under Augustus. And when you think about it, that is who Dravid reminds one of.

Hi Gaurav,
Nice piece. But one thing to note. How do you give a guy a dignified exit when he is living in fool's paradise? In Ganguly's case, he has simply refused to acknowledge that his batting form has been poor for almost 2 years. Everytime anyone has brought it up, he has always thrown statistics at the public saying that his record speaks for itself. While I agree that Ganguly should have been allowed a dignified exit, I doubt he would have ever taken the pistol and single bullet option.

dear gaurav,
nice effort this!indian cricket has no spine!

Nice to read through your words Gaurav.Found it a nice balance of something we hold as true.Lot has been said and happened sice you wrote your article.Just a small point to add to it.Today many speak of Sourav as a controvertial person.But they should realise that the controversies arose because he dared to take stands where other Indian stalwarts meekly surrender.He dared answer Steve Waugh in the language they better understand,he dared taking off his shirt on the Lords balcony making it clear that gone are the days of colonial cricket.Our cricket is as free as the rest of our country.I dont remember any Sachin or Dravid speaking for the game.As it happens with every Ceasar Ganguly shall be forgotten into oblivion.But all those moments he gave us shall remain forever with us...

We must bring back Ganguly if we want to win world cup.On his day he can just make match one sided and he is very agressive captain too.He should open the innings and not Gautam Gambhir.He sacrificed his fav place for Team India.

Ganguly has alwas been with every player whenever they were out of form.Now no one is supporting ganguly.His fav position was opening but he sacrifised it for team India.I want Ganguly back.