Sourav Ganguly Returns in Style

Sourav Ganguly Returns in Style
By ICF Staff - December 8 2006

Two days after arriving

in South Africa, Sourav Ganguly has made a statement of intent in his comeback match, a warmup game against Rest of South Africa.
Both openers, Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag, were out for duck after Rest of South Africa won the toss and put the Indians in.Sachin Tendulkar didn't last for long either, succumbing for 10 to the up-and-coming fast bowler Morne Morkel who is on the fringes of selection for South Africa, bringing a jet-lagged Sourav Ganguly to the crease at 37/3.VVS Laxman gave Ganguly some company, but he was sent back soon enough, another victim to the impressive Morkel. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out in the single digits to the same bowler shortly thereafter.Through it all, Ganguly was rock-steady, solid in defense and impressive in offense. With Irfan Pathan providing much-needed support at the other end, the ex-captain brought some respectability to the Indian score, which ended at 316/7 at the end of the day. Ganguly's inspirational 83, as well as Pathan's ton and Harbhajan's entertaining 47, brought some life back into the Indian innings after the rest of the top and middle order failed yet again.One hopes that Greg Chappell will learn from Ganguly's and Zaheer Khan's performance on this tour. He had continued to push back against the selection of both of these players, even for this tour, but Dilip Vengsarkar overruled him and Indian cricket is better off for it.

Saurav Ganguly

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Former captain Saurav Ganguly is likely to be recalled for next month's test series in South Africa when the selection committee meets in New Delhi on Thursday.
The move has been prompted by uncertainty over skipper Rahul Dravid's fitness for the opening test in Johannesburg (Dec. 15-19) due to a finger injury and a string of poor batting displays by the team in one-day cricket.
Ganguly's return is expected to bolster the side's brittle middle-order, especially after left-hander Yuvraj Singh had been ruled out of the three-test series with a knee injury.
The side has come under intense pressure following two crushing defeats in the five-match one-day series in South Africa after the opening match was washed out. The fourth one-dayer is scheduled to be played at Port Elizabeth later on Wednesday.
"Ganguly's name will surely be discussed," selector Ranjib Biswal told Reuters on Wednesday.
"But to say rightaway he will be picked would be speculation," Biswal added.
The committee was to originally meet in Mumbai, but the venue was shifted to the capital at the request of board president and Union minister Sharad Pawar who wanted to speak to the selectors.
Dilip Vengsarkar had said after taking over as chairman of selectors two months ago that he was open to the idea of Ganguly's comeback provided he proves form and fitness in domestic cricket.
Ganguly was sacked as skipper and one-day player last October and dropped from the test squad in February after a long batting slump and a row with coach Greg Chappell.
But the 34-year-old left-hander, who has scored 5,221 test and 10,123 one-day runs, scored a century and bowled incisively in domestic cricket this season that has triggered a public demand for his recall.
The Bengal captain, who had a spell with English country Northamptonshire this year, is also harbouring hopes of playing his third World Cup in the Caribbean next year.
Also working in the left-hander's favour is that he is a proven performer on the bouncy South African pitches, having scored 292 runs at an average of 32.44 in five tests spread over two tours.
India have not won a test match in three previous trips to South Africa.

Indian demands Ganguly's recall

Dalmiya demands Ganguly's recall
Cricinfo staff
November 27, 2006
Demonstrators in Kolkata vent their spleen against Greg Chappell and push for Sourav Ganguly's recall © AFP
Jagmohan Dalmiya, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, became the latest public figure to demand changes in the Indian cricket team by calling for the immediate reinstatement of Sourav Ganguly in the team, saying his recent performance showed that he was fit and in top form.
Politicians had jumped in the fray recently with one federal minister demanding on Monday that Chappell face a privilege motion in Parliament after his response to some MPs' criticism of the team's performance.
"After the way Ganguly played on the pacer-friendly track in Mohali [in the Ranji Trophy opener against Punjab], he surely deserves a place in the Indian team," Dalmiya said here after a CAB working committee meeting.
Briefing newspersons about the deliberations, Dalmiya said the association would request the BCCI to impress upon the national selection committee the need to consider recalling Ganguly in the national team.A resolution to that effect was passed in the meeting.
Ganguly recently showed signs of returning to form with a century in the Duleep Trophy before scoring 43 on a fast and bouncy Mohali wicket. "At Mohali, more than the number of runs, the way he got them shows he is now as fit as he was in the past. Also he is in full form," Dalmiya said.
Ganguly has been out of the Indian team since turning out in the Karachi Test against Pakistan earlier this year. He played his last ODI in 2005 in Sri Lanka.



Bring back Sourav: Dalmiya to BCCI

Express News Service

Kolkata, November 27: Call it a thaw in the stand-off of between Sourav Ganguly and Jagmohan Dalmiya or a move that can further jeorpardise the Bengal batsman’s chances of coming back into the national team.
The former BCCI boss — for the first time since last July’s CAB elections — today openly called for the immediate reinstatement of Ganguly into the Indian team. And he did that going as far as deciding to shoot off a letter to the BCCI, asking it to take up the matter with the Dilip Vengsarkar-led selection panel. The sharp reaction from Dalmiya follows many others in the cricketing fraternity who have called for an immediate overhaul of the Indian team following the dismal showing in South Africa now.
“Going by the manner in which Sourav played there (Ranji Trophy match against Punjab at Mohali), he deserves a place in the Indian team. It’s not the runs that he’s scored, but the way in which he played that I feel like this. In fact, having discussed the matter with the CAB members, we have decided to write to the Board, asking it take up the matter with the selection committee. Sourav should be considered (in the Indian team), that will be our request — before it’s too late,” Dalmiya told mediapersons today after a Working Committee meeting of the CAB.
Ganguly scored 6 and 43 at Mohali, but the former Indian captain led Bengal to a thrilling 14-run win over favourites Punjab last week.
Dalmiya’s open support for Ganguly and the move to officially write to the BCCI on this issue comes as a surprise for many in the cricketing community, since the left-hander had famously backed the anti-Dalmiya camp at last July’s bitterly-fought CAB elections that Dalmiya won by a whisker. Ganguly had gone on record in the run-up to the CAB elections holding Dalmiya responsible for Greg Chappell’s infamous email leak episode last year.
Dalmiya maintains that the move to write to the Board seeking his inclusion is in the best interest of the beleaguered player, but veterans in the Kolkata Maidan circuit see it as an “over-reaction” and fear that it could further antagonise the BCCI and the selectors against Ganguly.
In another development, Dalmiya confirmed seeking the BCCI’s permission in hosting an international tournament at the Eden Gardens next summer. “We have written to the Board seeking their permission if we can invite the Indian team and a few international sides for a Twenty20 or One-Day International tournament next May. I hope we get the due permission to go ahead with the event that will be played under the lights,” Dalmiya said.
The CAB meanwhile pulled out of the forthcoming zonal women’s cricket meet, citing the need to amend its constitution before rushing into consenting to the Board’s proposal to take part in the east zone women’s tournament.


KOLKATA, Nov 27: West Bengal Sports Minister Subhas Chakraborty on Monday pitched for re-induction of Sourav Ganguly in the Indian cricket team in the wake of its recent poor showings. "Sourav has contributed a lot to India and should be included in the Indian cricket team, given the team's dismal showing," Chakraborty said. The minister's comment comes in the backdrop of India's back-to-back losses in South Africa, where the Rahul Dravid-led side went down in the second and third one dayers after the first game was a wash-out. Ganguly has been out of the Indian team since turning out in the Karachi Test against Pakistan earlier this year. He played his last one-dayer in 2005 in Sri Lanka. "It cannot be said how well Sourav will perform if re-inducted into the Indian team. This (a team's success in cricket) requires a collective performance."


Axe Chappell, bring back Ganguly
Saturday November 25 2006
That's what Ripal wants at least
There has been an uproar in India since they lost second One-dayer against South Africa recently.
Every Indian cricket fan is criticising the way they played and even Indian politicians had a debate in parliament about it.
I can only blame politics within Indian cricket. It starts with the selection of the players, coaches, managers, etc.
Now everybody knows that the employment of Greg Chappell did not actually work to the benefit of the Indian cricket team.
First he played the political game by removing Sourav Ganguly as a captain and then as just a player.
Ganguly is one of the most successful Indian captains and an excellent all-rounder. He is aggressive which any captain needs to be at international level.
He was responsible for many Indian successes abroad and took India to a World Cup final.
If you see records then you will hardly find India winning outside the Indian continent but under the captaincy of Ganguly.
India has won at least one Test on every nation's soil including the great Australia.
Chappell has done to much unnecessary experimentation, the worst one was sending in Irfan Pathan at top of the batting-order.
Pathan then concentrated too much on batting and lost the rhythm of his once great bowling.
Greg Chappell should be axed and some of the Indian selectors. They are useless.Ripal Parmar

sourav ganguli

Rude jive at Srinath prompted toss controversy: Ganguly
New Delhi, Nov 19: Former Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly has finally revealed the story behind turning up late for the toss during the famous 2001 India-Australia series, saying it was a pre-meditated strategy aimed at provoking the Aussies. Ganguly's turning out late for the toss had aggravated rival skipper Steve Waugh no end, prompting him to mention the incident later in his autobiography as well. And Ganguly admitted the plan was to provoke the Australians and give them a dose of their own medicine. "When we played them in India, I was a novice as captain while Steve knew the tricks of the trade. He was also utilising the columns he wrote for Indian newspapers to say why Sachin (Tendulkar) was a spent force and how good the Australians were," Ganguly said. "Having already lost the Test series, John Buchanan once asked Javagal Srinath in an ODI at Vizag why he was leaving the field, in a rude manner. So, we decided to give a taste of their own medicine to the Australians. We wanted to tell them that they were in our country and not vice-versa. The idea was to provoke them, and it worked." On his best behaviour ever since being sidelined from the team -- first as a captain and then as a player, Ganguly made light of coach Greg Chappell's remark that he wanted to cling on to his job as skipper for money. "We were good friends for many years before he became the Indian coach and friends can fight and behave irrationally in anger. By God's grace, I was born in a family where things were never so bad financially. It was a statement made in anger." Bureau Report
'India need Sourav Ganguly'
Reckons KeplerFormer South African captain Kepler Wessels has pledged his support towards a recall of Sourav Ganguly to the India national side.
Wessels, who also played Test cricket for Australia, thinks the former Indian captain's experience will be priceless if they are to have any chance of success on the tour.
The subcontinent team are currently embarking on a two-month tour of South Africa, which includes five one-day internationals, a Twenty20 game and three Test matches.
Wessels has already written off India's chances in the current one-day series, but believes they do have a chance in the longer format of the game, if they recalled Ganguly.
"India need Sourav Ganguly," he told The Asian Age newspaper. "They will have to bring him in for the Tests at least.
"Sourav's experience will be handy for India, he has scored a lot of runs here."
However, the 49-year-old feels that the tourists will struggle to come to terms with the fierce bowling of the home team.
"India will find it difficult to face the South African pace attack on bouncy pitches on which Shaun Pollock, Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini will be quite a handful.
"South Africa will win the series comfortably because they are used to these conditions. I see no problems for them," added Wessels, who pointed to current skipper Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar as the only two men to watch during the series.
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Sourav keeps World Cup dream alive
NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said yesterday he had not lost hope of playing in next year's World Cup in the Caribbean after returning to form with a century in a domestic tournament.
The 34-year-old reminded national selectors that he had plenty of cricket left in him when he hammered an unbeaten 118 for East Zone against North Zone in a first-class Duleep Trophy match at Guwahati on Monday.
“If God permits, I'll play the World Cup,” said Sourav, who has not played a one-day international since September 2005.
The left-hander was sacked as captain last year and later dropped from the national side following unfavourable comments from coach Greg Chappell, who branded him a “disrupting influence”.
He was also axed from the Test squad after the tour of Pakistan in February despite leading the team for an Indian record of 21 victories.
“It's just a matter of getting a couple of hundreds and Sourav will be going to South Africa for the Test series,” The Times of India yesterday quoted an unnamed selector as saying. – AFP

SA tour is Dravid's acid test: Ganguly
Agencies
New Delhi, Nov 19: Former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly feels the South African tour will be a litmus test of his successor Rahul Dravid's captaincy.
''The South African tour will be the most difficult tour for Rahul as captain. When the team plays it is the responsibility of the captain but I also think it is not the sole responsibility of the captain that the team wins,'' Ganguly said in an interview to a national TV channel.
The former skipper feels the Proteas will make full use of their home conditions and come up with green tops to neutralise the Indian spinners' impact on the series.
''Every team uses conditions that suit them, South Africa is known for using green top wickets and in that case the strength of our spinner is neutralised,'' he said.
The Bengal Southpaw, who has is currently out of favour with the selectors, said the new selection panel headed by Dilip Vengsarkar has given him ''positive vibes'' and he was hopeful of making a comeback in the World Cup.
''Every team should be picked on the basis of performance. The new selection committee headed by Dilip Vengsarkar has given positive vibes about judging players and I am quite hopeful of making a comeback,'' he added.
'I haven't lost hope and that is why I am still playing. I have never thought of quitting. I scored a century in a Duleep Trophy match and will try and do well in the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches,'' he said.
Asserting age was no bar for him, Ganguly said is Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid could continue playing in their early 30's, so could he.
''Sachin, Rahul and Anil Kumble are 32-33 years old but still they are in the team and if one is good to play at that level age is no consideration,'' he explained.
Sourav Ganguly has said that Greg Chappell's coaching philosophy may not work in India.
"They are saying process is more important than the results," said Ganguly in New Delhi. "I don't know how long it will work in India."
anguly, who was removed from captaincy after the Zimbabwe tour in 2005 when Chappell sent an email to the Indian board criticising his methods, also said that he was ready to forget what had ensued between him and Chappell. "It happens... when two friends fight. I was angry, especially when it came from someone whom you knew for some time. You say things when you are angry, but they may or not be from the heart."
Having scored a century in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy, Ganguly felt that he had a good chance of returning to the side depending on how he fitted into the scheme of things and how the team performed. Ganguly also said that captaining India was the hardest job in the world and that Rahul Dravid, the current captain, should be given some time.
"If you want to win, you've got to be thick skinned. I was not, but I developed it later," Ganguly said of his own captaincy. India won 21 of the 49 Tests under his captaincy, while Dravid has led the side to five victories in 17 Tests.