Indian cricket has been blessed with Princes and Maharajahs ever since its inception. We have had Royals like Ranjitsinghji, the Maharajah of Vijinagram , Duleepsinghji don the sport and make it richer. But indisputably Indian cricket's Greatest Maharajah has been the man who is so aptly nicknamed" Maharaj"- Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. He started like a prince, ruled like a king and left the game like an emperor. The story of cricketers from Bengal being given a rude awakening by the controllers of cricket in the country has been a historically continual process. It started with Shute Banerjee and Putu Chowdhury and has continued till Sourav Ganguly. But defying all odds, the Tiger of Behala has stood like a Prince among the ruins of his predecessors to become arguably his country's finest captain.
If we travel down memory lane to Sourav's international career, it presents an interesting case study. His first international tour consisted of just a single One dayer against the West Indies and was highlighted by his "Maharaj" like act of not carrying out the duties properly as a twelfth man. He was deemed an egoistic cricketer and was left to rot in the wilderness for more than 4 years. It was on the England tour of 96 that this talented southpaw got his chance to present himself on the International scene. Destiny had to play an important role as The Shakespeare of Patiala, Navjot Singh Sidhu left the tour in between and Sanjay Manjrekar suffered an injury. As a result Sourav got his much awaited entry at Lords. The rest as they say is history.
Very few sportsmen have had to fight against the odds so frequently as has Sourav done throughout his career. It is unfortunate that India does not know how to honour its sporting heroes. If I were to write on this aspect, a whole book would even prove to be less. Once Sourav launched himself with that twin centuries on that England Tour, he has never looked back. He developed his one day game to such a level that he even outshone Sachin Tendulkar for a prolonged period of time. For a man whom challenges provide the biggest motivation in life, he took up captaincy at a time when Indian cricket was in complete turmoil- passing through its darkest phase. The match fixing controversy had rocked the nation and Sachin Tendulkar had stepped down from his position. At a time when the country needed a brave heart and a strong mind to pull itself from the deep cesspit that it had dragged itself in, Sourav became the team's messiah. A team which had hardly won away started winning regularly - both home and away. India became TEAM INDIA. A team spirit that was hardly ever seen in the Indian team became the mantra of its success. A nation which was deeply in crisis had found an able leader to take it to the shores of glory. India under Ganguly was a different knit altogether- a belief that we can win was seen among all its members. The Natwest victory started a run of wins which took Team India to the Zenith of One Day Cricket-The world cup final. Beating Australia in Australia, Pakistan in Pakistan , England in England . Sourav Ganguly had broken many jinxes. Indian cricket literaly took a rebirth. The hearts that had stopped beating after the match fixing controversy once again beat in unison during a tense match. India had once again announced itself in the big league.
Sourav Ganguly during his leadership was lucky to have worked under one of the finest coaches to have led India- John Wright. The former Kiwi Captain assumed the role of a mentor and a coach so methodically that he gave breathing space to all members of the team. The captain was given the freedom to implement his ideas and the team was allowed to revolve around him. But after 5 hectic and demanding years in India, family took precedence over work and the man from New Zealand returned to his native place. With him he also took away the fortunes of his captain.
Greg Chappel - the man who replaced Wright was seen as a master tactician who could work wonders with the team. But actually things took a turn for the worse. Chappel was instrumental in the ouster of Ganguly not only from the Captaincy but also from the team. Suddenly every other person in the country became a cricketing pundit- Sourav cannot face the rising ball, Sourav cannot field , Sourav cannot run. A man who just some time ago was the country's best captain and one of its premier batsman was now made to look like a novice. As a sports fan it was sad to see one of India's greatest sporting heroes being meted out such step motherly treatment by his own "Family" members. Age was used as an instrument against him. But fighting against all barriers , Dada proved what he was made of when he made a fairy tale comeback in South Africa . The unity which was the USP of the team had completely disintegrated and it culminated in India being eliminated in the first round of the 2007 World Cup. Thus left Greg Chappel who was responsible for waning the morale of the team and more importantly ruining the talent of one of India's most promising talent with the ball- Irfan Pathan.
It is a very arduous task to build a team. Sourav Ganguly had done this practically on his own. The current Indian team under MS Dhoni is just a continuation of that team under Ganguly which had brought confidence amongst the players. Sehwag, Zaheer and Yuvraj were given space at a time when very few conservative captains would have dared to give them a place a team. Sourav was a cricketer who played cricket at his own pace and by his own rules. It is sad that a cricketer of such magnanimous proportions has had to prove himself time and again to his countrymen. People became sceptic that Sourav would not be effective in the IPL. Unbelievable comment- No one since Brian Lara has cleared the ropes so consistently in both One Dayers and Test Cricket as Sourav Ganguly has done. One of World Cricket's finest ever One day batsmen ever, Ganguly has been unfortunate to be at the receiving end of such blasphemous statements. The innings that he played in the last match of last years IPL was lesson in batting for any young aspirant of the game.
As this year's IPL commences, it is a matter of debate whether India's greatest southpaw will be able to cope up against his younger and fitter colleagues. His fans would be praying for their DADA to continue to rule their hearts with his performances. It would be a privilege for all of us to watch this great son of Indian Cricket lead his side in the IPL - we hope his DADAGIRI stays on for some more time
Thursday, April 16, 2009
John Buchanan's Multiple Captain Theory
John Buchanan- a name unheard of in the cricketing circles outside Australia came to prominence as coach of an Australian team in the late 90's that had taken cricket altogether to a different level. He defied convention, critics and all cricketing pundits to prove his masterclass as a coach without ever playing Test Cricket.Like every great thinking mind, Buchanan is unorthodox. His maverick methods have been met with positive as well as negative criticism. Master spinner Shane Warne was dismissive about his role in the team while his captain Ricky Ponting credits him as being one of the important reasons why Australia was able to complete a hat trick of World cup wins.
For a man who has had hardly anything left on the international stage to achieve,he aptly bowed out of International retirement on a grand scale . But with the advent of the Indian Premier League, the concepts and innovations in the game of cricket have reached stratospheric proportions. The Knights from Kolkata acted smartly and caught hold of the most prized fish in the world of coaching. Buchanan had led the knights to a creditable finish at the inaugural edition ,although things could have turned out much better .The 2009 IPL has already made waves till now- all because of non cricketing reasons and Buchanan hasn't been far from making the news makers page with his "Multiple Captain" theory. Perhaps it was only apt that a man who has written a book entitled "If Better Is Possible" to come out with a never before seen idea such as this. He started his book quoting Henry Kissinger, "take people where they have never been before".Now he has taken all of us to where no one ever in the history of the sport has ever been.
It was quite natural that his idea was met with severe criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity and the cricket frenzy public of India. What added to the turmoil was that he had almost taken head on with the captain of the team - Sourav Ganguly, the heart and soul of the Knights. For a man who is revered perhaps more revered than Goddess Durga in his homeland, Mr. Buchanan had to be ready with his weapons to confront the consequences. He supported his theory stating that multiple captains would ease the burden on one player as the respective captains would look into the different aspects of the game which is very essential in a format so unpredictable as T-20.It is true that the minutiae of each aspect would be addressed if we have a specialist for that role but the very essence of a team would obviously be disintegrated. History is replete with glorious instances that 11 great players do not make a great team. Former Cricket great Ian Chappel has rubbished this idea saying that every team looks up to its captain in times of crisis. A team of 4 captains would suggest vulnerability in the mental framework of a team as no individual would be completely responsible for the outcome. Shane Warne was instrumental in single handedly taking the Royals to victory in the inaugural season of the IPL. It was so evident that a man entrusted with the responsibility could make the team revolve around him. And what is more surprising is that when you have a natural leader in Sourav Ganguly, there actually seems no logic to disturb the mindset of a settled team. If given a chance anyone would want to lead a side and if you have multiple captains putting in their ideas at crucial junctures in a T-20 match, nothing but chaos will unfold. However flashy and innovative the game might become, team spirit is the most important thing for a team to succeed. And a team whose leader is unstable is bound to crumble at some stage. The theory might be tested at a lower level but implementing it successfully in one the biggest stages in world cricket successfully seems dicey. In a tournament so short and fast as the IPL, even a single match might turn out to be the difference between a knock out spot and elimination. As such if the idea falters at an important stage, the team morale is bound to go haywire. South African coach Mickey Arthur disliked the idea saying "It has to be one leader always .I favour the one-captain situation because everybody in the team is clear about who is in charge at all times".
Teams like Australia and India have had different Test and one-day captains, but not more than one skipper in a match in any form of the game. But what Mr. Buchanan is plotting can have extreme effects- both positive and negative. Also, we should not be rigidly harsh on Mr. Buchanan as his theory might yield positive results . But what goes against him is the platform on which he has tried testing his idea. Kolkata which has had a hell lot of sufferings meted out to its favourite son, could not withstand anything more. It had to react. Moreover when you have arguably India's greatest ever captain leading you, such ideas are bound to bring in detractors .As King Khan had said in one of his memorable dialogues in Chak de India" Har team ka sirf ek Gunda hota hain. Aur is team ka Gunda hoon main", Mr Buchanan is part of a team which has three Gundas" Ganguly, Shahrukh and Buchanan". No one would give his place. We hope the knights continue to rule whoever the Gunda is and bring a smile to the millions in the city of joy.
For a man who has had hardly anything left on the international stage to achieve,he aptly bowed out of International retirement on a grand scale . But with the advent of the Indian Premier League, the concepts and innovations in the game of cricket have reached stratospheric proportions. The Knights from Kolkata acted smartly and caught hold of the most prized fish in the world of coaching. Buchanan had led the knights to a creditable finish at the inaugural edition ,although things could have turned out much better .The 2009 IPL has already made waves till now- all because of non cricketing reasons and Buchanan hasn't been far from making the news makers page with his "Multiple Captain" theory. Perhaps it was only apt that a man who has written a book entitled "If Better Is Possible" to come out with a never before seen idea such as this. He started his book quoting Henry Kissinger, "take people where they have never been before".Now he has taken all of us to where no one ever in the history of the sport has ever been.
It was quite natural that his idea was met with severe criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity and the cricket frenzy public of India. What added to the turmoil was that he had almost taken head on with the captain of the team - Sourav Ganguly, the heart and soul of the Knights. For a man who is revered perhaps more revered than Goddess Durga in his homeland, Mr. Buchanan had to be ready with his weapons to confront the consequences. He supported his theory stating that multiple captains would ease the burden on one player as the respective captains would look into the different aspects of the game which is very essential in a format so unpredictable as T-20.It is true that the minutiae of each aspect would be addressed if we have a specialist for that role but the very essence of a team would obviously be disintegrated. History is replete with glorious instances that 11 great players do not make a great team. Former Cricket great Ian Chappel has rubbished this idea saying that every team looks up to its captain in times of crisis. A team of 4 captains would suggest vulnerability in the mental framework of a team as no individual would be completely responsible for the outcome. Shane Warne was instrumental in single handedly taking the Royals to victory in the inaugural season of the IPL. It was so evident that a man entrusted with the responsibility could make the team revolve around him. And what is more surprising is that when you have a natural leader in Sourav Ganguly, there actually seems no logic to disturb the mindset of a settled team. If given a chance anyone would want to lead a side and if you have multiple captains putting in their ideas at crucial junctures in a T-20 match, nothing but chaos will unfold. However flashy and innovative the game might become, team spirit is the most important thing for a team to succeed. And a team whose leader is unstable is bound to crumble at some stage. The theory might be tested at a lower level but implementing it successfully in one the biggest stages in world cricket successfully seems dicey. In a tournament so short and fast as the IPL, even a single match might turn out to be the difference between a knock out spot and elimination. As such if the idea falters at an important stage, the team morale is bound to go haywire. South African coach Mickey Arthur disliked the idea saying "It has to be one leader always .I favour the one-captain situation because everybody in the team is clear about who is in charge at all times".
Teams like Australia and India have had different Test and one-day captains, but not more than one skipper in a match in any form of the game. But what Mr. Buchanan is plotting can have extreme effects- both positive and negative. Also, we should not be rigidly harsh on Mr. Buchanan as his theory might yield positive results . But what goes against him is the platform on which he has tried testing his idea. Kolkata which has had a hell lot of sufferings meted out to its favourite son, could not withstand anything more. It had to react. Moreover when you have arguably India's greatest ever captain leading you, such ideas are bound to bring in detractors .As King Khan had said in one of his memorable dialogues in Chak de India" Har team ka sirf ek Gunda hota hain. Aur is team ka Gunda hoon main", Mr Buchanan is part of a team which has three Gundas" Ganguly, Shahrukh and Buchanan". No one would give his place. We hope the knights continue to rule whoever the Gunda is and bring a smile to the millions in the city of joy.
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