Sourav Gangulys "injury"

[sachinisgod]

Well, when did one see Saurav Ganguly give up? under him when did his young turks gave up? the answer is NEVER. Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest batsmen ever but can't put him up there with captaincy. both the test matches that have been won under him have been due to individual brillaince (Multan - 309 by Sehwag, 197 by Sachin. and Mumbai - 7 wickets to Karthik, 7 to Kumble, and 5 to Harbhajan)...thats not to say he is a bad captain or anything but he is certainly not better than Ganguly...just the Maharaj has to improve his batting to retain his spot in the team...else he will become the 12th man captain(like Nagpur)

 

[Ajit]

Dravid never gives up. But, he just doesn't bat very well as a captain and that hurts.

If I say that Dravid never gives up, how can you infer that I mean Sourav Ganguly does.

And you just can't take credit away from Dravid for anything.
Bowling changes, field settings, backing up bowlers even when edges go for 4 or 4 byes, spinner from 2nd over, and most importantly taking match winning catches. Tell me one thing he didn't do in Mumbai.

Even for Multan Test, the match may well have drawn. Dada would have likely not even given them follow-on(like he didn't at Sydney) and Pakistanis had the batsmen to draw, atleast on a pata(flatter). He applied pressure all over and that made it impossible for Pak to win.
Also, declared with SRT on 194*.

 

[jazz]

that was stupid when he declared when tendulkar was on 194 how would dravid, feel if he was on 194 and ganguly declared

 

[Ajit]

I don't think he will ever mind it.
Neither did Sachin.

 

[sohum]

Sourav Ganguly, in my humble opinion, faked an injury. Perhaps he was slightly injured but he realized that if he played in all probability it would be Mohammad Kaif who would be dropped or sacrificed to the opening position. Ganguly thus dropped himself. This is a great gesture from a captain, but unfortunately, this Bengal tiger is a little too proud to accept that. So he feigned an injury and everything settled down jolly well.

 

[Ajit]

Sourav has done quite well on green pitches.
He got 144 on a green Brisbane pitch.
And if thinks that he is not good enough to be the in team, why doesn't he retire?
I think he is good enough to be playing and he should respect himself more than Kaif or anyone.

 

[sohum]

He basically acknowledges the fact that he is not in good enough form to warrant a place in the team, but he has the self-belief that he is still a good prospect for India. In doing so, he accepts the fact that international games should not be used to hone his skills--thus he played in the Ranji game to get into practice. If he actually did this, my respect for him grew, or rather, was initiated.

 

[Ajit]

If form is that important, none deserves to be in the team. I think he got injured.

 

[sohum]

If form is that important, none deserves to be in the team. I think he got injured.

True, but it is absurd to replace the whole team in one go. Especially looking at the fact that most of everyone else has no test experience and the jump is too great from domestic cricket to international.

 

[Ajit]

Did Ponting's thumb injury take more time than normal to heal or did his record against Harbhajan and Kumble have something to do with it? We should not be jumping to conclusions, but his record in India is indeed pretty ordinary. Secondly, will Ponting and Co. be criticised for the big fuss they made about the wicket which spun and cost them the match? Or, do we have to start learning to live with the idea that rules will be different for touring sides to India and for the home team captain?

Only an injured player can say like this.

 

[sohum]

Why can only an injured captain 'say like that'?

 

[Ajit]

Well, when he says "Did Ponting's thumb injury take more time than normal to heal or did his record against Harbhajan and Kumble have something to do with it?", I think he rather means that "Punter may have been fit much earlier but continued faking his injury as he isn't good against Bhajji and Kumble".
If people can criticise Sourav only because they think he is faking an injury, why don't they pick Ponting? And if you do agree that Punter was unfit till Mumbai test, then why don't you agree the same about Sourav.

 

[sohum]

Because I'm Indian and I don't mind if Ponting sits out a few matches--injured or not. It will always help the opposition, despite his record.