Ganguly Back on Top: Right or Wrong???

[raj2rif]

http://cricket.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1201445.cms

Saurav Ganguly is back as the team Captain it is a reality. There is no doubt about his ability of leading the team as compared to others present or tested so far. Tendulkar was a failure while Dravid as a stand by captain as well has as a full time skipper has done nothing outstanding. Ganguly has been lucky to have some of the most talented players in the side while he has been the skipper. Imagine the lot that Kapildev lead to world cup victory ini 1983, they were all good players but I would say probably not as talented as the current lot is suppose to be or atleast considered to be. Consider the pace attack of Kapil's Devil as they called them: Madanlal (medium pace) Roger Binny (medium pace) Abid Ali (medium pace: I don't know if he was in the team) and Mohinder Amarnath (Probably Kumble bowls faster than him) as against Zaheer Khan, Srinath, Venketeshawar Prasad, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Balaji, Amit Bhandari and list is long, probably each one of them faster than any one of the past years. Kapil also did not have any reserves of the noticable fast bowlers, where as we have a pretty strong second string of fast bowlers in the country today. On the batting front, Ganguly himself, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman further supported by Kaif and Yuvraj, are suppose to be more talented, than Srikant, Mohinder, Yashpal Sharma and Kirti Azad. On the spin front, Kumble and Harbhajan are suppose to be more talented than, Shastri, Doshi and Shivlal Yadav.

The question here is whether Ganguly is the best ever Captain as the records show or he is just Bad among the wrost available?

I personally feel, that appointing Dravid as a full time captain in itself probably was a mistake as we had already seen his performance as a stand by captain in the past. Vice Captain almost four years and yet you falter under pressure or comfort yourself that we ran close does not make sense to me. Now appointing some one who may not find the place in team itself is again a questionable decision. We need to groom some one for 2007 and earlier we do better it is. I am not sure, with current form and age factor, Ganguly would be there in 2007 or not.

To come to the point, let us discuss, whether we should appoint captain first and then pick up playing members of first we should pick up the team and find the best person among them to lead them. Both have plus and minus points. Example of Mike Brearly of England stands out, who did badly as a batsman but did extremely wonderful job as a skipper. But then he was the professor of psychology which every other captain is not.

[itsnavin]

Do we have any other options?

No..we don't...

Let them try him for Zim tour...Ofcourse he'll win the test series...It'll be interesting to see how they play with NZL...I hope they win against them. If Dada fails to deliver in this tour, show him the way out and let Tendulkar lead the indian team again. Last time when he led the team was 5 years back. I think he's much more matured now and should try to take more responsibility. Let him lead from the front. Try him for a series and see results. I think he can do it this time.

[anujkadyan]

I strongly feel that he doesnt even deserve this chance.. of what use is his argession when it fails to deliver any results..

TO say he is more agressive than dravid ..cos he can remove his shirt and unfurl it if india wins.. where as dravid wont show any such sign ...

Dravid is a good thinker of the game as well.. he shuld haev got this chance to lead in this series as well..

Unless ganguly gets back his form with bat he shuldnt have any place in the team .. as he wont lead from the front and will eat up necessary balls..and also will be like an albatorss around the neck of indian team..

Yes Sachin wuld be a grt choice too :)

[raj2rif]

I don't think getting Sachin back would be a good idea. I guess Sehwag commands a lot of respect from the team members and could be groomed for the job, but he has to be consistant with his batting and has to improve his fielding. Depending upon who can perform better under pressure, between Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kaif, we can groom the future skipper. When South Africa can go for a young player as Captain why can't we do that. We did that when Pataudi became the captain at age 21 while so many senior players were present in the team. Whoever we pick up has to perform first as a player.

[anujkadyan]

Yes thats exactly what they shuld do . But yes u r right that it will eb tough to handover the captaincy to one of these unless they themselves are consistent.

[mukeshkumar007]

I don't think getting Sachin back would be a good idea. I guess Sehwag commands a lot of respect from the team members and could be groomed for the job, but he has to be consistant with his batting and has to improve his fielding. Depending upon who can perform better under pressure, between Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kaif, we can groom the future skipper. When South Africa can go for a young player as Captain why can't we do that. We did that when Pataudi became the captain at age 21 while so many senior players were present in the team. Whoever we pick up has to perform first as a player.

Yes getting sachin back as a captain really would not be a good idea. But I think sehwag also might not be a good captain becoz many time he show is bachpana during the game by trying to hit every boll for the four and six as he did in the final of Indian Oil cup series, which is not a good strategy............ So to become the captain of team India he must need to minimize this habit.

[itsnavin]

At this point, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Kaif are not one of the best choices. Sehwag has played quite a lot of cricket, both tests and ODIs, but others are normally playing ODIs. A captain should fit in both positions otherwise we'll have to follow England ways. Hence, in Indian scenario, for the time being, Yuvraj and Kaif gets disqualified. They need to play more tests and show their potential towards captaincy. Sehwag won't be a good choice. Currently he is at a juncture where he can tame any opposition. A burden of captaincy will affect his batting performance like it affected Sachin. Moreover, as Mukesh mentioned, sometimes he plays some vague shots to throw his wicket...can be bad signs for a captain.


My suggestions are: try Ganguly for this series and then try Sachin. If both options won't work, we don't have any other options but Sehwag.

[raj2rif]

Yuvraj and Kaif have been leading their State Sides for some time now. So I guess is the case with Sehwag. Some player's batting get affected by additional burden of being Captain. Azharuddin and Kapil did fairly well with bat as a Captain so was the case with Gavaskar. So, to say that Sehwag's batting will get affected may not be the right statement unless we try him out. Yuvraj and Kaif have not got chance to play much test Cricket not because that they don't have the talent, but because we don't want to rotate the old players as Australians do. May be we chose Sehwag for Test and Yuvraj/Kaif for one day and see who does better. After two series we name only one as Captain for both versions of the game.

But at this point if Ganguly can come out with some runs consistently then probably he would continue for some time as we are pretty shy at trying new things. Further, Sehwag has made no secret of leading the nation. The selectors should also make no secret of telling him to be more consistant and responsible and I think that is just fair enough. I personally feel, Yuvraj and Kaif have got a little raw deal as far as test cricket is concerned.

New faces knocking at the door of both type of games may also have Captain's material. I remember at least two occassions, when a player was picked up for the first time for the national side and was named Captain. Tony Lewis of England's Team touring India in 1973 was one occassion and I guess Kim Hudges of Australia was the second one. Why can't we try such thing, where we pick up the best 16 and then name captain and he may be the junior most player as far as experience or age is concerned so long he has the leadership qualities. This will also give some piece of mind to the established players that there is no free lunch.

[deepender]

It's an intriguing discussion. In my opinion Sehwag maybe apt choice for one-day captainship at this point -- to help groom him to lead in future.

Ganguly is a dubious choice as a player, OK choice as a captain. I like Ganguly's spirit (unfortunately he doesn't have most other dimensions) so let's hope he's able to use that to energize Indian team in Zimbabwe.

[mukeshkumar007]

But He disappointed again. only score 5 runs and caught out by bond.

[itsnavin]

But He disappointed again. only score 5 runs and caught out by bond.
I don't know how many times I've mentioned that throw this Ganguly out till he performs well in domestic cricket...he's such an in-disciplined captain. I don't want to mention here how he got this tag but u must have read previous days newspapers. Thing is that he took this series very casually and ab yahi uss par bhari padney wali hai. Aur, btw, he shouldn't be there only for captaincy. kyon? woh ke baraat mein aa raha hai kya...

For others, who didn't bat well today, it's a typical Indian trend...aaya Ram -gya Ram..

I would praise Pathan, Nehra for their opening spells. Why Agarkar is back??? Yadav bowled well and he's batting pretty well. Atleast he and Pathan made India reach 3 figures.

Bottom line is if we are to stay somewhere in the race of next world cup, Indian team should follow strict discipline. Chappell has already pointed out this issue. Be organized, play professionally...Throw the guys out who are not playing well. See the example of Gillespie..Ponting showed him the door for the 4th test and made way for a debutant(Shaun Tait)...this is professionalism!!

baaki...let's see...

[mukeshkumar007]

For others, who didn't bat well today, it's a typical Indian trend...aaya Ram -gya Ram..

I would praise Pathan, Nehra for their opening spells. Why Agarkar is back??? Yadav bowled well and he's batting pretty well. Atleast he and Pathan made India reach 3 figures.

Bottom line is if we are to stay somewhere in the race of next world cup, Indian team should follow strict discipline. Chappell has already pointed out this issue. Be organized, play professionally...Throw the guys out who are not playing well. See the example of Gillespie..Ponting showed him the door for the 4th test and made way for a debutant(Shaun Tait)...this is professionalism!!

baaki...let's see...
Navin kuch dino se maie soch reha tha ki Pathan ko Captain bana diya jana chiye and he should come up in the batting line. And bakiyo ko to Bangal Ki Khadi maie......... nahi nahi Bangal ki Khadi maie dalne se to India maie Mounsoon bi nahi ayega... inko to Sahara ke Desert maie barhe barhe Khoote gadh ke band dena chiye...........taki wapas bi nahi aa sake.......

Mujhe to Bechare Chappell pae tarash aa reha wo bechara soch reha hoga ki kesi team ke coach ban gaye.............

[haryanajat]

Ganguly should be out. He cannot handle fast bowlers. Indian problem is lack of aggressiveness. I think lack of sufficient meat in diet is 1 reason. Saab ke saab mariyal nazar aate haeen. These people look like they haven't eaten food for some time. They are not fit.
Why has pakistan produced so many fast bowlers? Meat is one reason. Meat eaters are by nature aggressive. Once in while a kapil dev comes along but that is rare.

[brad]

jeetu bhai,
do u know anything ? from where do u get all these hi fundas ? i have not seen a single fact in ur posts.

except a very few everyone in indian team eats meat.

less than 20% of indian population is vegiterian.

they are not fit bcos they can afford to be not fit.

[gaganjat]

Haha LOL you guys have started talking about 'Crooket' again.

Ganguly on top : WRONG


top among Indian players or overall . He is a flop show. running for 2 runs is ultra merathon for him.
Somebody please ask him to keep off his hands from waist (kamar pakde rah hai mamta kulkarni ki dhaal)

[mukeshkumar007]

Ek Kani yeha England hai jaki Australia ki aisi tesi karan lag ri hai, and dusri taraf yeh aflada mehan players hai jakan kenya se bi harta sharma koni awa ............. koi surprise nahi hogi ki yeh 29 ko Zimbwae se bi harjya to..........

[arunshamli]

Ganguly should be out. He cannot handle fast bowlers. Indian problem is lack of aggressiveness. I think lack of sufficient meat in diet is 1 reason. Saab ke saab mariyal nazar aate haeen. These people look like they haven't eaten food for some time. They are not fit.
Why has pakistan produced so many fast bowlers? Meat is one reason. Meat eaters are by nature aggressive. Once in while a kapil dev comes along but that is rare.


Ganguly magarmach(crocodile) tak kha jata hai....uske lunch and dinner me meat ka hona lazimi hai....aur sab se marial wahi hai.

If I am correct Kumble is the only vegitarian member in the Indian team(ab toh usko bhee nikal diya hai). and last 10 years me India ne jitne bhee match jeete hain....unme se 70% toh kumble ne hee jitaye hain.

[raj2rif]

"Nothing succeeds like success" That is true in every scenario. We have seen great following for Pataudi, Gavaskar, Kapil and Azheruddin, and also seen the people ready to chop their heads when they failed. So, Ganguly's case is no different. But is he solely responsible for what is happening? Yes as the leader of the side he needs to take the blame for it which he has very gracefully accepted. Why I personally prefer Ganguly over Dravid is because when we lost in Sri Lanka, Dravid said we ran close. That is the worst statement a Captain can make. There are no rewards for runners up.

Trying out Venu at # 3 was not a bad idea. If just this young boy did not get the first delivery of his innings as one of the best the bowler could bowl. That was tough luck for young "Venu". But the culprits as a batsman had been our own Veeru, Yuvraj, and Ganguly himself. If we can afford consistently unperforming or under performing Sehwag, then why not Ganguly, at least he is doing one job better than others have been able to do.

The fighting spirit as well as taking things too easy both emerged out from this game. I feel this may be one of the best game one could have watched. We gave away initiative when we should not have after Nehra and Pathan had put up one of their best performances. Then we failed to bat 50 overs. It looks to me that Mr. Sehwag wanted to score 215 runs in two overs. I guess he needs to get his math right. Yadav and Pathan showed the others that the opposition was not as fierce as it was made out to be. I hope the rest of the team learn lessons from the innings Yadav and Pathan played and they themselves don't get carried away with this one performance.

[haryanajat]

jeetu bhai,
do u know anything ? from where do u get all these hi fundas ? i have not seen a single fact in ur posts.

except a very few everyone in indian team eats meat.

less than 20% of indian population is vegiterian.

they are not fit bcos they can afford to be not fit.
Dudi sahab what do you know about cricket?
meat = beef. meat does not mean chicken or anything else here in us.
I am not advocating eating beef here.
Less then 20% of Indians are vegetarians? haha that's why they look starved. Don't they? Eating chicken once a year makes a person non-vegetarian in your book.? You know so much then! :rolleyes:
And you are correct these freeloading cricketers can afford to be non-fit. All they have to do is to show up and lose again and again.

[haryanajat]

Ganguly magarmach(crocodile) tak kha jata hai....uske lunch and dinner me meat ka hona lazimi hai....aur sab se marial wahi hai.

If I am correct Kumble is the only vegitarian member in the Indian team(ab toh usko bhee nikal diya hai). and last 10 years me India ne jitne bhee match jeete hain....unme se 70% toh kumble ne hee jitaye hain.
You might be correct. May be majority of Indians - protein ko pachha nahee sakte, no matter how much of it they get it from animal or other sources.

I Have a couple of questions from any bhai/behen who is in medical field:

#1. Please tell us if there are any differences between the protein we get from plants and then ones we get from animal sources. I know plant protein from 1 single source is incomplete.
#2. So what about protein from animal sources. How much of it should be taken in terms of grams at 1 time so the body can process it completely. I mean suppose I eat a complete chicken in 1 sitting which I have done on occassions :) is that too much protein to consume at 1 time? I mean if it is, then the rest will be thrown out of the system.

[brad]

Dudi sahab what do you know about cricket?


is site ki memory khatam ho jayegi, is liye likh nahi rah ayahan.

meat = beef. meat does not mean chicken or anything else here in us.

US na, unko kiya angrezi aati hai? cricket aata hai?
boston aur NY khelta hai aur kehte hain world series. inki chall mein na phansoo to hi achcha.


I am not advocating eating beef here.
good for u.


Less then 20% of Indians are vegetarians? haha that's why they look starved. Don't they?
they are starved bcos they are starving. they are not eating. if someone is not eating u cannot know if they are vegetarian or not. they are not part of survey.

Eating chicken once a year makes a person non-vegetarian in your book.?
No. One non veg item in any meal of the day.

You know so much then!
yes, i know so much bcos i read it.

aap kaun si class mein padhte hain?

[itsnavin]

Ganguly should be out. He cannot handle fast bowlers. Indian problem is lack of aggressiveness. I think lack of sufficient meat in diet is 1 reason. Saab ke saab mariyal nazar aate haeen. These people look like they haven't eaten food for some time. They are not fit.
Why has pakistan produced so many fast bowlers? Meat is one reason. Meat eaters are by nature aggressive. Once in while a kapil dev comes along but that is rare.
Bandhu...kya baat kar rahe ho...aggression ka meat eaters se relation nikaal rahe ho...koi mathematical theoram thoda hee hai yeh...koi aisa logic to diya karo jo atleast sun-ney mein to theek lage...yeh to wahi baat ho gayi "Murga to apni jaan se gya aur miyan hee ko maja hee nahin aaya..."

[itsnavin]

Dudi sahab what do you know about cricket?
meat = beef. meat does not mean chicken or anything else here in us.
I am not advocating eating beef here.
Less then 20% of Indians are vegetarians? haha that's why they look starved. Don't they? Eating chicken once a year makes a person non-vegetarian in your book.? You know so much then! :rolleyes:
And you are correct these freeloading cricketers can afford to be non-fit. All they have to do is to show up and lose again and again.

This is the first time I am hearing a relationship between meat and cricket.
Jit bhai...why don't you advt. this on TV and tell it to BCCI that only muslims are allowed to play for India as they are the only meat(beef) eaters...otherwise u make ur own team...

It seems u don't read ur post before posting...ek baar padh liya karo jo tumne likha hai...

[itsnavin]

"Nothing succeeds like success" That is true in every scenario. We have seen great following for Pataudi, Gavaskar, Kapil and Azheruddin, and also seen the people ready to chop their heads when they failed. So, Ganguly's case is no different. But is he solely responsible for what is happening? Yes as the leader of the side he needs to take the blame for it which he has very gracefully accepted. Why I personally prefer Ganguly over Dravid is because when we lost in Sri Lanka, Dravid said we ran close. That is the worst statement a Captain can make. There are no rewards for runners up.

Trying out Venu at # 3 was not a bad idea. If just this young boy did not get the first delivery of his innings as one of the best the bowler could bowl. That was tough luck for young "Venu". But the culprits as a batsman had been our own Veeru, Yuvraj, and Ganguly himself. If we can afford consistently unperforming or under performing Sehwag, then why not Ganguly, at least he is doing one job better than others have been able to do.

The fighting spirit as well as taking things too easy both emerged out from this game. I feel this may be one of the best game one could have watched. We gave away initiative when we should not have after Nehra and Pathan had put up one of their best performances. Then we failed to bat 50 overs. It looks to me that Mr. Sehwag wanted to score 215 runs in two overs. I guess he needs to get his math right. Yadav and Pathan showed the others that the opposition was not as fierce as it was made out to be. I hope the rest of the team learn lessons from the innings Yadav and Pathan played and they themselves don't get carried away with this one performance.

Tavathia ji
Positive side dekhtey rahengey...aur matches haartey rahengey...
I hope u saw yesterday Ashes 4th Test match...and see the Aussies...129 runs bananey bhari padd gaye England ko...pasina dila diya...

Isliye main to yeh kehta hun ki if u lose, atleast opposition ko pasina to dila hee do...why surrender meekly!!

[itsnavin]

Trying out Venu at # 3 was not a bad idea. If just this young boy did not get the first delivery of his innings as one of the best the bowler could bowl. That was tough luck for young "Venu". But the culprits as a batsman had been our own Veeru, Yuvraj, and Ganguly himself. If we can afford consistently unperforming or under performing Sehwag, then why not Ganguly, at least he is doing one job better than others have been able to do.


Venu failed at the first ball of Bond in the last match at No 3 position. Today he got out at 3rd ball against Zim. Would you still favor him?
In today match against Zim, it seems that Indians have forgot how to bat. I don't know why they are feeling so much pressure.

Jab jeetna nahin hai to pressure kaisa?

[raj2rif]

Venu failed at the first ball of Bond in the last match at No 3 position. Today he got out at 3rd ball against Zim. Would you still favor him?
In today match against Zim, it seems that Indians have forgot how to bat. I don't know why they are feeling so much pressure.

Jab jeetna nahin hai to pressure kaisa?

Yes, Venu got out at 3rd ball, but that does not take away the fact that he is a better player than those not in the team. He is not a specialist opener, and to that extent it should go to his credit that he is playing where ever he has been asked to bat. Having opened the innings my self, I fully know what it takes to face the first few overs in a cricket game, specially if the stuff is coming at 150 miles an hour.

I would go and persist with him for atleast this series, and see if he can translate his talent into runs. If he does not, then he will not have the doubt that he was not given the chance.

Actually, I don't know who the third opener that was selected for the tour? If it was Mr. Dhoni, than he shold have opened today, or if it was Yuvraj, then he should have come in. But now since we are trying Venu, let us persist with him and give him some chance to succeed.

[haryanajat]

beef=meat. When americans start playing cricket they will be the dominant force though it will take some time. Dudi sahab unko baseball aati hae. Baseball is harder then cricket. Have you ever seen a professional baseball game? Unlike cricket the ball can be pitched in many different ways and it comes at you at a much faster speed.
There is a relation between eating meat and being aggressive. Why has pakistan produced so many fast bowlers? While India has produced not even 1 genuine fast bowler?

[arunshamli]

beef=meat. When americans start playing cricket they will be the dominant force though it will take some time. Dudi sahab unko baseball aati hae. Baseball is harder then cricket. Have you ever seen a professional baseball game? Unlike cricket the ball can be pitched in many different ways and it comes at you at a much faster speed.
There is a relation between eating meat and being aggressive. Why has pakistan produced so many fast bowlers? While India has produced not even 1 genuine fast bowler?


Bangladesh, WestIndies , Kenia , Zimbabwe they all are beef eaters. lagta hai ke westindies walon ne aajkal beef khana band kar diya hai... ;)
and what about pakistan....they are no better than India.

[itsnavin]

When americans start playing cricket they will be the dominant force though it will take some time.

Americans ko bhee dekh lengey...

I bet, if one day American have a cricket team, I am sure it'll be crowded with Indian, Pakis, Brits or Aussies immigrants. And take down the main difference between baseball and cricket is that cricket ball pitches but baseball never. And if u know about swings and spins of cricket...I think it'll break American's back.

[haryanajat]

Bangladesh, WestIndies , Kenia , Zimbabwe they all are beef eaters. lagta hai ke westindies walon ne aajkal beef khana band kar diya hai... ;)
and what about pakistan....they are no better than India.
how long have they been playing? :rolleyes: India is no better then bangladesh or zimbabwe these days. Pakistan is better then india. They have produced world class genuine fast bowlers. Imran khan, wasim akram, waqar, akhtar and they keep coming. I would say pakistani bowlers have been better then India bowlers overall.

[haryanajat]

Americans ko bhee dekh lengey...

I bet, if one day American have a cricket team, I am sure it'll be crowded with Indian, Pakis, Brits or Aussies immigrants. And take down the main difference between baseball and cricket is that cricket ball pitches but baseball never. And if u know about swings and spins of cricket...I think it'll break American's back.
How many medals in any sports has India won internationally? say in olympics? can count on fingers of 1 hand. What does it say about India? The main requirement to play any sports is fitness and athletic ability. Indians don't have it at the world level.
I think you have never seen a baseball game in person and don't know the rules thats why you say that. Baseball can be thrown in more ways then the cricket ball. Its much harder to hit a baseball and there is no helmet or pads to protect you with the ball coming into your face with an average of 95 miles an hour with many more variety of spins and swings then the cricket ball. lagta hae french hawa lag gayee. ;) jaab zarrorat hotee hae tho americans ke paas he aate haieen.

[arunshamli]

how long have they been playing? :rolleyes: India is no better then bangladesh or zimbabwe these days. Pakistan is better then india. They have produced world class genuine fast bowlers. Imran khan, wasim akram, waqar, akhtar and they keep coming. I would say pakistani bowlers have been better then India bowlers overall.


you did not write anything about WestIndies ;)

Zimbabwe has been playing for at least 23 Years(I remember they played in WC 1983, which India won :cool: )
Bangladesh: 12-15 years

lagta hai ye log beef wala protien ko theek se pacha nahi pa rahe hain. ;)

Akhtar the most aggressive player in the world is struggling to find a place in Pakistan team...

I agree, India is no better then Bangladesh.

[haryanajat]

you did not write anything about WestIndies ;)

Zimbabwe has been playing for at least 23 Years(I remember they played in WC 1983, which India won :cool: )
Bangladesh: 12-15 years

lagta hai ye log beef wala protien ko theek se pacha nahi pa rahe hain. ;)

Akhtar the most aggressive player in the world is struggling to find a place in Pakistan team...

I agree, India is no better then Bangladesh.
west Indians have taken up baseball, thats why. :rolleyes:
akhat has tantrums that is why he is struggling to find..

[itsnavin]

How many medals in any sports has India won internationally? say in olympics? can count on fingers of 1 hand. What does it say about India? The main requirement to play any sports is fitness and athletic ability. Indians don't have it at the world level.
I think you have never seen a baseball game in person and don't know the rules thats why you say that. Baseball can be thrown in more ways then the cricket ball. Its much harder to hit a baseball and there is no helmet or pads to protect you with the ball coming into your face with an average of 95 miles an hour with many more variety of spins and swings then the cricket ball. lagta hae french hawa lag gayee. ;) jaab zarrorat hotee hae tho americans ke paas he aate haieen.

Chalo theek hai mujhe to french hawa lag gayi...tum kya sochtey ho tum desi rehh gaye ho??? main kamm se kaam apne desh ko support to kar raha hun...and they are atleast playing cricket...aur tum?? Tum to bandhu uss nation ki baat kar rahe ho(means USA) jinko cricket ka naam bhee nahin pata...FYI..US mein US citizens cricket nahin kheltey, desis cricket kheltey hain...mujhe to aisa lag raha hai ki 'Diye tale andhera hai'...tum US mein rehh kar bhee unke baarein mein nahin jaantey...

BTW, tell me one thing, do u feel anything positive about India. US walon ne kya aisi ghooti pila dee tujhe...I think u better get back to work and prepare a US cricket team(only US citizens) and come to any street in India...shakal dikhaney layak nahin rahengey...

To keep u happy, I admit that baseball is a better game than cricket...kahan baseball aur kahan cricket!! Baseball ke players to slaughter houses mein paida hote hain and kaatdey ka khoon peetey hain. Aur cricket wale becharey 'green meadows' mein chartey hain...OK! That's what u want me to say...happy!

I think this thread was started in a good spirit to discuss problematic issues in Indian cricket team but changed the course of the discussion. Let's stick to the topic if u want to. Otherwise, ultey-pultey logic matt do...like "meat eaters are good bowlers", "US can produce best cricket team"..yahan koi nahin maanney wala tumhari iss baat ko...AND stop wasting ur time in this thread!!

[haryanajat]

Chalo theek hai mujhe to french hawa lag gayi...tum kya sochtey ho tum desi rehh gaye ho??? main kamm se kaam apne desh ko support to kar raha hun...and they are atleast playing cricket...aur tum?? Tum to bandhu uss nation ki baat kar rahe ho(means USA) jinko cricket ka naam bhee nahin pata...FYI..US mein US citizens cricket nahin kheltey, desis cricket kheltey hain...mujhe to aisa lag raha hai ki 'Diye tale andhera hai'...tum US mein rehh kar bhee unke baarein mein nahin jaantey...

BTW, tell me one thing, do u feel anything positive about India. US walon ne kya aisi ghooti pila dee tujhe...I think u better get back to work and prepare a US cricket team(only US citizens) and come to any street in India...shakal dikhaney layak nahin rahengey...

To keep u happy, I admit that baseball is a better game than cricket...kahan baseball aur kahan cricket!! Baseball ke players to slaughter houses mein paida hote hain and kaatdey ka khoon peetey hain. Aur cricket wale becharey 'green meadows' mein chartey hain...OK! That's what u want me to say...happy!

I think this thread was started in a good spirit to discuss problematic issues in Indian cricket team but changed the course of the discussion. Let's stick to the topic if u want to. Otherwise, ultey-pultey logic matt do...like "meat eaters are good bowlers", "US can produce best cricket team"..yahan koi nahin maanney wala tumhari iss baat ko...AND stop wasting ur time in this thread!!
Listen when I say americans I mean white and black not Indians.
us mein tho soccer bhi nahee khelte and they are in the top 10 teams in the world. So yeh machna baand kaar.
What is this support thing? What support? If you don't play well you are out. But that's not happeneing in Indian cricket. Perhaps you cannot make a connection between good protein food and atheltic ability. Go back to kindergarten.
Tell me itna maach rahaa hayee how many medals has India won in olympics - nothing compared to what us wins 1 time in there. Who wins the medals - the person with athletic ability and the poor fitness level of the Indian cricketers in comparison to australians and other successful teams clearly shows.
I am contributing to the community by stating facts. That may not be to your liking but nonetheless they are facts. :(

[itsnavin]

Listen when I say americans I mean white and black not Indians.
us mein tho soccer bhi nahee khelte and they are in the top 10 teams in the world. So yeh machna baand kaar.
What is this support thing? What support? If you don't play well you are out. But that's not happeneing in Indian cricket. Perhaps you cannot make a connection between good protein food and atheltic ability. Go back to kindergarten.
Tell me itna maach rahaa hayee how many medals has India won in olympics - nothing compared to what us wins 1 time in there. Who wins the medals - the person with athletic ability and the poor fitness level of the Indian cricketers in comparison to australians and other successful teams clearly shows.
I am contributing to the community by stating facts. That may not be to your liking but nonetheless they are facts. :(

Bekaar ki behas karne se kya faayda. Tanney thread ki issi-tessi te kar dee.. I know u r contributing positively to ur community but point of contention was "meat eaters are better cricketers(bowlers)". Give some concrete proof to support ur statements. Till this point u didn't provide anything acceptable. Tumne kaha aur maine maan liya...aisa nahin hone wala...

Rahi baat..Indian cricket team ki fitness and athletic ability ki...where were u when they were in world cup finals? Nothing succeeds like success!! Lean patch ke time par sab danda le kar chadd jaatey hain. Kuch baat palley padi! Did u read all my posts about cricket on Jatland? Padh lena...Aisa nahin hai ki India mein better players nahin hai...politics ki wajeh se woh frontline mein nahin aa paatey...it's changing but gradually. I've many a times criticised their selection policies...inclusion of ganguly etc etc. Lekin that's for sure Indian cricket ke paas cricketers ki kami nahin hai...they need to get a chance. Their time will change soon. but I won't agree with ur "protein deficiency" things.

And don't try to compare Indian and US Olympic medals. Eveyone knows this very well. Let's keep this discussion about cricket.

Now, listen! I'll wait for the day when US cricket team will have a better ICC rating than Indian cricket team. I think u'll have to take another janam for this thing to happen. Aur jab woh ho jaye, bandhu, ek mail drop kar dena. May be I believe ur words then. Don't blame my overconfidence but I am like that.

And now, we better take leave from this thread.

[mukeshkumar007]

Dear All,

Earlier I felt that this time Ganguly would be able to get his prievious day by scoring well. But in this series he failed three time that is not good for the team because he is a captain and he have to inspire his team fellows by scoring good run. But he has not been able to do his best in every field (neither as a captain nor as a batsman). Now He seems a burdon on team.

So now we have no other options but to droop him from Team India. Drooping him would be good decision for the team when Next world is only 6 month far. We need to replace him by a younger.
(I would prefer Irfan Pathan).

[itsnavin]

Dear All,

Earlier I felt that this time Ganguly would be able to get his prievious day by scoring well. But in this series he failed three time that is not good for the team because he is a captain and he have to inspire his team fellows by scoring good run. But he has not been able to do his best in every field (neither as a captain nor as a batsman). Now He seems a burdon on team.

So now we have no other options but to droop him from Team India. Drooping him would be good decision for the team when Next world is only 6 month far. We need to replace him by a younger.
(I would prefer Irfan Pathan).

That's what I am stressing since long!

My choice will be Sachin...he should be given another chance...

[deepakchoudhry]

India has no choice but Ganguly, Although He has failed as a batsman in recent times but he is a very good captain.

World Cup is 2 years away and BCCI wants him there until then.

But I think he wont last beyond 2007.

Greg Chappell will provide much needed agression and discpline to the team.

Wait and watch..this team is going to rock.

Australia, England and India will Dominate world Cricket for next 2 years.

[mkrana]

Just on a second thought... how Ganguly performed when he played under some other captain eg. Dravid :D Any stats ?

[raj2rif]

I had expressed my views on Captain earlier. I personally feel, that keeping Dravid as a Vice Captain is not good. We need to put a thinking, aggressive and intelligent young player in Vice Captain's slot now, so that when Ganguly is gone, we have an experienced person available to lead the side. Captain's role, attitude and approach to the game is very important.

The only problem with the current lot is that they are not consistant. Making a bowler Captain has always been debatable issue for two reasons. Firstly bowlers specially fast bowlers are more prone to injuries and may not be available to lead the side at crucial time. Secondly a bowler as a Captain most of the time eith under bowls himself or over bowls himself. There have been successful Captains who had been in the team as a bowler alone.

Any new batsman who performs consistantly for one or two seasons should be appointed Vice Captain who should take over from Ganguly whenever he leaves, whether it is before world cup or after that. Ganguly should not remain in the team only as a skipper alone.

I feel some times, that a Wicket keeper makes a good captain, as he is the person who watches each batsman and bowler's performance most closely for the entire duration of the match. And if a wicketkeeper can be a good batsman and have an aggressive attitude, then probably he should make a good captain.

[deepakchoudhry]

As fas as the stats are concerend, Ganguly is probably sliglty ahead of Azhar.
Cant compare to Rahul as he is not captained as so many matches.

It takes years for any Captain to mature and lead a team...see any country.

He is the best Indian Captian so far...Azhar was good until he got involved in the Scam.

Ganguly can be compared to Mike Bearely of England, Who was not a fanatstic player but excellent captain for his country.

How many teams have gone to Aus and came back with a Draw(and the unforgettble Pak tour), that speaks for man and his leadership skills.

[raj2rif]

As fas as the stats are concerend, Ganguly is probably sliglty ahead of Azhar.
Cant compare to Rahul as he is not captained as so many matches.

It takes years for any Captain to mature and lead a team...see any country.

He is the best Indian Captian so far...Azhar was good until he got involved in the Scam.

Ganguly can be compared to Mike Bearely of England, Who was not a fanatstic player but excellent captain for his country.

How many teams have gone to Aus and came back with a Draw(and the unforgettble Pak tour), that speaks for man and his leadership skills.

I don't think we can really compare Ganguly with Mike Brearly of England. Ganguly has been successful while leading the best in business, while Kapil was leading only the utility players and won the world cup. So was the case with Mike Brearly. When he took over from Ian Bothom in Australia, England was trailing 2-0, and then they came out and leveled the series and I think won also. As against it, Ganguly's case has been otherway round i.e. gaining the lead and then loosing it. Performance in World Cup and Australia were due to combined effort of the team, while in Pakistan we were playing a team under transformation. The same Pak Team gave us drubbing at our own home ground with all our talent available. Ganguly is the most successful captain we have had that is a fact, but is he the best in the business? In my opinion he is best among the lot available today.

The need is to groom some one for 2007 now. With the current form and continuing failure with the bat, keeping Ganguly only to lead the side is a luxary India can illaffford. Ganguly needs to earn his place in side in order to lead it. It is unfair for those budding youngester who have been consistently performing at Domestic and Junior Level only to get ignored to accomodate the stars of the past. I feel Gautam Gambhir is aggressive enough to be in one day side and so is the case of Shikhar Dhawan.

While we have not been able to solve the problem of the opening pair, Dravid's continuous failure in Zimbabve is another cause of concern. May be our senior players like Sehwag, Dravid and Ganguly need a little rest probably to concentrate on their other business activities.

[deepakchoudhry]

The leadership issue is never easy.

Leader should be able to motivate the players and command respect, and he has that of his team.

As long as the team performs as a Unit, Individual performances will not make a big difference.

Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have the best players in the world but to make them champions is a different matter.

[raj2rif]

With India making it to finals of a tournament once again, the question arises of their loosing streak in the finals. Having seen the New Zeland in two games, it clearly emerges that they do have a little advantage over India specially when the Indian Top Batting order is struggling to get runs. It may be a good idea to work out some thing different than the opposition expects us to do and thus gain advantage of suprise. There are two players who are probably unknown to the NZ think tank and they are RP Singh and Suresh Raina. One may laugh at the argument of including these two players in the final XI specially when they have not had much outing in the Zimbabwe so far.

Our problem is the Opening stand. Out of the four matches, only once the opening pair had been able to put on 50 plus partnership. Dravid has been struggling at No 4 position and that is the cause of biggest worry for he is too good a batsman to be dropped from the side. We don't have an option of dropping Ganguly at this point of time unless he himself opts out. With Shane Bond firing all cylinders, it may well be a good idea going with an extra batsman and using the skills of part time bowler to bowl those crucial 10 overs. Some suggestions for Indian think tank:

Unorthodox as it may look, NZ itself opened the bowling with a spinner at now less a stage than a world cup match and not only it surprised every one, it was fairly successful. Harbhajan has been shadow of himself so far and purely on the performance may not deserve the place in the playing XI. Murali Karthik had been out of ideas in the only match he has played. Now the choice is left in sharing 10 overs among Sehwag, Yuvraj, Ganguly himself and Suresh Raina if he finds the place in playing XI.

My choice of playing XI would be as under:

Ganguly
M S. Dhoni
Kaif
Yuvraj
Sehwag
Dravid
Raina
J P Yadav
Irfan Pathan
Ashish Nehra
R. P. Singh
Venugopal Rao (Super Sub) to replace RP Singh or Nehra.

One would wonder as to why one would bring in the most successful opener to the middle order. I feel, Dhoni is in a good form at this time and can play fast bowlers fairly well. It is the matter of just one good knock that a batsman of Sehwag's calibre would be firing once again. Sehwag himself considers middle order as the right place for himself, so let us give him the opportunity.

While bowling, I would start with Pathan from one end and Sehwag from another end. Bowl first 10 overs and then bring in Ashish as first change from one side and R P Singh from other end. Last 6 overs of the innings should be bowled by Pathan and Nehra. Depending upon how one performs, balance of 5 overs can be shared between four part time bowlers. I am sure, while it may look absurd plan, it may just surprise the Kiwis and may well work wonderfully.

I however don't think Chappell and Ganguly would be thinking in the same manner. Let us see how they perform on Tuesday.

At this time I can only say Good Luck to Team India.

[deepakchoudhry]

Sir, Umeed per Duniya kayam hai. Lets back our boys 100%.

Sehwag, Ganguly or Rahul will fire up tomorrow.

Bond Ka band bajegaa kal. :)

India is going to win the Final...but I will be at work and not watching the boys win. :(

Venugopal is excellent, Yadav is good too...Dhoni is performing well.

This unit will rock in 6 months.

[arunshamli]

Sehwag does not deserve a place in one day squad. he is a very good test player but he has to prove a lot as far as the ODI is concerned.

Ganguly toh team me rakhne layak hee nahi hai...although he used to be my favorite balle-baj but all that is now history.

[itsnavin]

It's high time for Ganguly to quit...read this

http://people.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/1223681.cms

He's on the top of the list of potential quitters!!