Ashok K Bhattacharya’s article “He came, he saw, he conquered” (January 15) on Sourav Ganguly is the first balanced piece I have seen on this topic. It is sad that a player of his repute remained unsold at base price in the Indian Premier League’s auction. There could be many reasons all the 10 teams refused to bid for Ganguly, and to read conspiracy behind this is farcical. Many ageing stars like Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasuriya, V V S Laxman and Rahul Dravid also got shabby treatment. One reason could be that the auction is for a three-year term, at the end of which Ganguly would be 42. Another factor could be Ganguly’s slow scoring rate at the top of the order when fielding restrictions apply.
Although Ganguly remains one of India’s best test captains, he could not bring the spark to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). A captain is judged not only on results but also on his ability to build team spirit and motivate players. In two years under Ganguly’s captaincy, KKR failed on both counts. A great leader is also expected to pick the right talent to build a well-balanced team. As part of the KKR auction team in 2008, Ganguly must share the blame for a hopelessly constructed team of too many over-priced foreign players and not enough quality Indian batsmen, all-rounders or left-arm pacers. Frequent chopping and changing might have shaken the team’s confidence. Shah Rukh Khan is also to blame for his silly notions and Buchanan for promoting Australian players and trying to undermine Ganguly.
It seems when Ganguly’s place in the India team in various formats became shaky, he turned defensive and began to first look after himself rather than the team.
Partho Datta, Kolkata
