puneets wrote:
His Duleep trophy century was a welcome return to form. He had failed in quite few innings before that (county included) .
.. The kind of support that Ganguly has, he'll be an automatic selection if he scores 2-3 centuries quickly. Same is NOT true for the likes of Gambhir, Chopra, Gavaskar etc..'cos Ganguly has already proven that he is a seasoned international cricketer.
Ganguly does not have to prove himself day in and day out....
Maybe Ganguly doesn't have to prove himself day in and day out in your eyes, Puneet, but he certainly does in the eyes of Chappell and the selectors (influenced by him).
VVS Laxman has been called up to replace the injured Dravid before the last two ODIs. There is absolutely no doubt that, in terms of recent form, Ganguly is doing better than Laxman. And there is simply no comparison between the two when it comes to ODI career records: Ganguly averages over 40, with 22 centuries, while Laxman has a modest average of just over 31 (approximately the same as Sehwag, albeit with a much slower scoring rate than Viru's). As Dalmiya and the CAB pointed out, Ganguly made a fluent 43 on a difficult pitch in Mohali (where neither side was able to score too many runs) and took 5 wickets in the match. In his previous match, Ganguly made a century in the Duleep Trophy. On current form, and using objective judgment, there is no doubt that Ganguly would have been the natural choice to be selected for the ODI side -- especially as he would add a huge dimension to the bowling. Incidentally, he has done remarkably well with the ball in all forms of cricket throughout the brief phase when he appeared to be "out of form" with the bat.
As for being out of form in county cricket, I would suggest you give this another detailed look. I remember saying as soon as I saw the itinerary that it was likely to be quite a disastrous season for Ganguly cricket-wise, as he was scheduled to play mainly the Twenty20 fixtures during the five weeks he was to spend in England. He played his first county match the day after he arrived -- never a good idea for someone who needs a bit of time to acclimatise. He played two more first-class games after a month of just Twenty20 games and one limited-overs game, and he did indeed fail with the bat in all three first-class games (Remember that Yuvi was a complete failure for Yorkshire, but only his enemies would say that he should then have been penalised for the next Indian season for this -- as he wasn't at the time!). Then he played mainly in the Twenty20, where he averaged a bit over 27 with the bat at a good run-rate, and was the top wicket-taker for his side. He was Man of the Match in one Twenty20 game. I thought this was a decent performance, especially in a form of the game that doesn't suit him (he was opening throughout, when he might have done much better coming in at no. 4 and hitting out from the outset; the reason I didn't expect him to do very much in Twenty20 is that -- especially as opener -- Ganguly usually takes a bit of time to get his eye in, something that there isn't much time for in this form of cricket). Importantly, he played just one-day game and scored 71.
Compare that with Mongia, who averaged 13.5 in one-day games for his county, but was promptly selected to play for India in ODIs (with the selectors observing that he was in great form in county cricket -- based on his two big first-class centuries early in the season, following which he was in wretched form through the rest of the season).
In fact, now the selectors (read Chappell) will find any and every reason to keep Ganguly out of the side. Allowing him in now, for instance, will "risk" being seen as a saviour if he succeeds -- and that simply cannot be allowed to happen. Last year, Ganguly was second in the Ranji averages after Jaffer, and demonstrated fine form with bat and ball through the season. He was selected to play for India in tests, and demonstrated fine form (averaging 38 in the tests he played). Having been selected for one test in Pakistan, he agreed with his captain's desire to open -- but Chappell and Dravid decided at the last moment not to let him do so, again because he might succeed (and thereby be seen as showing qualities of team-spirit and leadership that he has consistently shown). He took a fine catch, fielded with verve in that match, and then batted well in the next match (when the rest of the middle order except Yuvi failed) and also took a key wicket to break a long opening partnership; he was promptly dropped, never to be selected since. On the strength of recent performances for India, Ganguly should've been the first choice replacement when Yuvi got injured. But he wasn't selected, and now hasn't been selected when Dravid is injured either. I think it is unlikely he will be selected no matter how well he bats and bowls -- as long as Chappell is India's coach. I don't think one can ignore his bowling form. He didn't bowl much when captaining India, but his bowling form has been excellent in both his county stints the last two years, and it has been excellent in all forms of cricket in India this season and last. His economy-rate was the best for his side in both the Challenger Trophy matches (in each of which, by the way, he outscored Raina and Kaif, two current stalwarts of the India side; this is important to emphasise, because the manner of how he got the 24 runs in the first game -- when his side was chasing a huge total under lights -- should also be taken into account, before a neutral observer concludes he was "out of form"; his team-mates did considerably worse, but remain in the India side!). Ganguly has been a key wicket-taker (at an excellent economy rate, usually the best on either side) in both the Ranji and Duleep Trophy this year. With the bowlers struggling, and given his demonstrably good form with the bat, he would add a lot of extra options in South Africa at the moment. Sadly, politics will continue to keep him out and India struggling. (I welcome Laxman's selection on its own logic, but if it was form and past history alone, there is no doubt that Ganguly -- not only because of his batting form, but even more because of his success with the ball in the last two seasons -- would have been the better first selection).
