Rising from the ashes ... Again !!!!!

Am jus referring to Ganguly here....

When Sourav Ganguly was left out of the Rest of India squad for the recent Irani Trophy tie against Ranji champions Delhi, a few cricketing experts started predicting the end of the road for ‘The Prince of Kolkata’. But, as is his wont, Ganguly proved his detractors wrong yet again when the new selection committee headed by K Srikkanth named him in the Indian squad for the first two Test matches against Australia – at Bangalore from October 9-13 and at Mohali from October 17-21.

Many of Ganguly’s supporters felt that the former India captain was made the fall guy for the team’s Test series loss in Sri Lanka, when in fact the rest of India’s Fab four – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman – failed to do much with the bat either. But, this was just another instance when Ganguly had the right to feel aggrieved.

Ganguly was one of India’s most successful batsmen in 2007 – the year in which he made another of his comebacks to the team and scored 1,106 Test runs at an average of 61.44 and 1,240 runs in one-day internationals at 44.28. Ganguly was the second highest run-getter in Test cricket and the fifth highest run-scorer in ODIs last year. Though Ganguly is no longer a part of India’s ODI team, he still has a bit to offer to the Test side, and will be looking to prove a point to his critics in the first two Test matches against Australia.

Ganguly has made a habit of making his detractors eat their words, and he has achieved this not only because of his cricketing talent, but also thanks to his mental strength and character. He is a very proud and self-confident individual, and these traits have stood him in good stead when faced with tough situations.

Ganguly’s inclusion in the team for the Tests against Australia led to speculation that this was done to give him a honourable exit from Team India and he would be the first of India’s senior cricketers to take up BCCI’s so-called “VRS” offer. This was a most preposterous suggestion, and has been dismissed as such by India’s Test captain Anil Kumble. And, Ganguly himself has rubbished reports of such a suggestion. It is ironic though that Ganguly, who is India’s most successful captain ever, is now made to feel unwanted.

But, when it’s time to get down to business, one can be assured that Ganguly will not only be looking to prove a point to the critics, but he would also want to prove to himself that he still has a lot to offer and deserves to play international cricket....