To all Dada critics worldwide !!!

How do you measure a batsman’s performance on the field? Is it by the number of hundreds he scores or by the number of runs he has scored in all forms of the game or is it by the positive impact he creates as a batsman on the field or is it by the way he inspires / motivates his fellow players on the field while wielding the bat or is it by the way he helps his team come out of a hole to a winning position?

If any of this or if all of these combined is taken as a yard stick, Ganguly’s contribution to Indian cricket will be enormous. Sourav Ganguly has been a phenomenal impact in the game. If Sangakkara says “Jayasuriya changed the face of the game”, I am sure many would accept my point of view that “Ganguly changed the face of Indian cricket.”

One needs to show his skills as a player first to secure and cement his place in a team. A player’s man-management skills will not be questioned at the beginning of his career. He showed the whole world what he is made of when his bat did all the talking. This is his second comeback into international cricket. His first comeback was a decade back and everyone knows what happened after the Lords’ test match. As many say, the rest is history.

How many players in this world have not at all been dropped from the side? If Bradman is the yardstick for batsmanship then I guess you should know that Otto Nothling had actually replaced Bradman soon after his disappointing debut (He scored 18 and 1). When a batsman of Bradman’s caliber was dropped, it was always on cards that Sourav would be dropped after 2 years of poor performance. He just scored 422 runs in 11 test matches played in 2004 and 2005. But, it does not mean that, Sourav isn’t a class act. Even players like Steve Waugh, Mohammed Azharuddin, and Ricky Ponting were dropped. Does that mean that they are not class performers? No one can doubt Ganguly’s skills as a batsman and as a leader.

When someone says that 144 was fluke, one must clearly rewind how the innings unwounded. India had lost 4 wickets (Sehwag, Chopra, Dravid and Tendulkar). Laxman and Ganguly resurrected the innings @ Brisbane. What came after that 144 was even special. Indians played brilliant test cricket and every batsman other than Aakash Chopra and Parthiv Patel scored hundreds bigger than Ganguly’s (Sehwag – 195; Dravid – 233; Tendulkar – 241; Laxman – 176). But had Ganguly lost his wicket it would have been curtains for India. Many of his hundreds in test matches haven’t been match winning. Accepted. But, a middle order batsman is one who consolidates the innings with the start given by the openers.

The number of runs and hundreds he has scored is a mind boggling figure. Since many of the critics say that numbers are just numbers I don’t want to prove them anything on that front.

As a fellow player the impact that Sourav has had on youngsters is astonishing. The freedom he gave to players like Yuvraj who made his debut (at the age of 18) and Zaheer (who was 22 then) in only the 2nd ODI series for Sourav speaks how much he motivates youngsters.

I know that many of them would still not be satisfied with this explanation and would like to pull Ganguly’s leg here. Sourav Ganguly will always be a legend in Indian cricket and he played a very important role to churn out the “Golden Era” of Indian cricket. Ganguly is a class apart and will always be remembered for the guts and the spirit with which he plays. It is a nice disease to spread across :) :)

To learn more about Ganguly, the critics can read Sambit Bal’s article in cricinfo.

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvpak/content/current/story/324588.html