Dada disgraced !!

Sourav Ganguly's unceremonious exit from the Indian team on Wednesday was disgraceful. But though the proceedings that followed India's 188-run victory were a shameful way to sideline the former Indian skipper, they didn't come as a shock, especially considering the way Indian cricket is run. Politics, many would believe, got Ganguly so deep into the series in the first place. That Sourav was branded a "batting all-rounder" by the Jagmohan Dalmiya regime to force him into the side, and then made to bowl only 2 overs in the seven days of cricket that followed, tells a tale. Without enough chances, his "all-round" worth was destroyed with the precision befitting a seasoned assassin. Although, Ganguly displayed his worth with the bat, it just wasn't enough. The final blow came when Dalmiya was voted out of power and the referee-count ended on Wednesday. Politics giveth, and Politics taketh away. The balance of power has shifted and so have the preferences. Indian cricket remains the same, trapped in a vicious web of power-brokers.


Despite being sacked for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, Ganguly does not believe he's reached the end of his international career. Sitting in his hotel room at the Taj Palace three hours after the announcement on Wednesday, Ganguly appeared dejected but not downcast. "I'll go back to playing domestic cricket," he said. "I still believe I can get back to the team. I want to play the 2007 World Cup, and Test cricket." What hurt Ganguly most was the cold shoulder he received from his former team-mates. None of the senior members of the team even came close to Sourav's room.

To make a simple connection, Ganguly has been made a pawn in the board's politics, in which anyone seen to be associated with Dalmiya has to be gotten rid of. But Ganguly has scored more than 15,000 runs in international cricket with his own blade, not Dalmiya's. He has been India's most successful captain by applying his own method on the field, not using the shrewdness with which Dalmiya survived for so long as Indian cricket's godfather. Of course he has not been in the best of form over the last year. But, given a chance under pressure, he showed he could still contribute as much as most others in the side. At the very least, he deserved another shot.

Keep on fighting DADA, we're with you...throughout.