Ganguly may not be a dead man but could soon be hurtling away to an exit if he continues to play as shabbily as he did on Monday.
Ganguly may not be a dead man but could soon be hurtling away to an exit if he continues to play as shabbily as he did on Monday
GUWAHATI: Rumours are that his head is next on the chopping block. Some have questioned his attitude, others have felt he can't force the pace anymore, and many feel he is India's weakest link on the field.
After Rahul Dravid, there are serious signs that it may be his turn next. The above concerns could turn out to be at least partly true.
Sourav Ganguly's fielding does leave much to be desired. His running between the wickets and the reluctance to take quick singles have led to his partner being run out on numerous occasions.
One still can't question his batting ability though. On his day he can tear any attack apart.
The only problem is, those days just don't come around as often as they used to.
Post Twenty20 glory, and taking into account the Board's vision of building a team for the future, it's the power of youth that counts, particularly in ODIs.
In this scenario, Ganguly's position becomes slightly shaky. He can only keep his place by performing consistently, both with the bat and on the field, and if one takes his performance in Monday's ODI into consideration, the signs do not look very encouraging for him.
He dropped the sitter that Mohd Yousuf sent skywards when the batsman was on just nine.
Yousuf went on to make an unbeaten 83, and was the chief architect behind Pakistan's reaching a decent total.
In international cricket, one dropped catch can cost the match. India's win might have overshadowed everything else on the day, but his fumbles on the field-and there were other instances too- are unlikely to have escaped the prying eyes of the two selectors watching the match - chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar and North representative Bhupinder Singh.
Also, when he batted, he almost ran out Gautam Gambhir, before getting run out himself: a 55-ball 39 all he had to show for his efforts.
Unless he swiftly makes amends in the next game at Mohali, the script could take a sad turn for him, particularly because the team already has four openers besides himself - Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag.
Skipper Dhoni, however, didn't give much importance to India's fielding lapses. "The outfield was quite hard and bumpy, so there were some spills. But overall, we fielded quite well," he said.
Some eyebrows were also raised when he came in to bat at number four. He did a decent job too, hitting a fine 63 to put India on the doorstep of victory. Could it be that he did so deliberately in order to delay Dravid's return?
Dhoni's explanation was logical. "I wanted a left-right combination in the middle. As Gambhir was the other end, I thought it would make the bowlers' job a bit more difficult. The next batsman to come in was Yuvraj. I think the strategy worked," he said, adding:
"In international cricket, you have got to be ready to play at any position, as the situation demands."
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