YES! Sourav Ganguly is back in the reckoning

Ajay Jadeja may have been playing to the gallery — or was he the harbinger of change? — when he declared the other day that Sourav Ganguly was the ideal candidate to captain India in the upcoming World Cup.

Six months ago, such a suggestion would have met with sniggers and raised eyebrows. But things have changed dramatically since then. The titans — Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag — are under a cloud. And Sourav is on cloud nine.

But whether and when the wheel will indeed turn a full circle and see Sourav reinstated on the gaddi is the million-dollar question. There is still the minor matter of his nemesis, ‘Guru Greg’, standing in the way, apart from the mentor-turned-vice-captain, Tendulkar, besides Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, two skippers in waiting, not to forget Board politics.

Be that as it may, as the ‘Bengal tiger’ seeks to embark today on a new chapter in his comeback saga — his return to One Day Internationals (ODIs) after 15 months — the big debate is not whether Dada, as Sourav is universally known, will make the cut for the Caribbean cruise but on his batting position in the playing XI in the World Cup.

The debate is an apt commentary of the distance that Sourav, who has over 10,000 runs in ODIs and 5,000 in Tests, has travelled. From being an unwanted has been, he has become a prized asset after recording the highest average of 42.80 from among his teammates in the doomed three-Test series in the Rainbow Republic.

Fortuitous circumstances propelled his recall to the international arena. Team India’s flop show in the Champions Trophy and the ODI debacle in South Africa, the failure of the ‘young Turks’ to rise to the occasion, the absence of Yuvraj because of an injury, pressure of the Bengal lobby, the public clamour for his recall — all contributed to the denouement.

In retrospect, the prolonged banishment was just the right prescription to rid Sourav of his ills, something he may admit now. He may have felt ditched by the very man he had strongly recommended as coach. But given his dwindling fortunes with the bat and the litany of ODI failures under his leadership, public empathy was with the dour Aussie then.

Thankfully, the 34-year-old southpaw correctly read the writing on the wall — that who he was (India’s most successful captain) didn’t matter, his bat would henceforth have to do the talking. Sourav grit his teeth and steeled himself for the long journey. He worked on his fitness, shed his perceived image as a shirker, spent hours at the nets (even in South Africa), tightened his technique and went through the grind of domestic cricket all over again. His healthy average of 52 last season and 330 runs in four matches this year so far in first-class cricket proved that he was back on track.

There were a few ‘off the field’ attempts to reignite his career as well — his misconceived move to curry favour with the powers that be by revolting against his former benefactor, Jagmohan Dalmiya, his tasteless whining in the Bhooley to nahin TV advert. These were but minor blips in the comeback script.

It was a leaner, fitter, meaner and focused Sourav who emerged from his exile. He was determined to succeed and when his chance came, he delivered. He refused to get intimidated by the Proteas pacers. Despite some ungainly and embarrassing moments when he was hit on the helmet or unsettled by the bouncers, he persevered. The runs came. The rest is history.

Former India captain and former chairman of the selectors, Chandu Borde, under whose stewardship ‘the God of the offside’ once reigned, felt that there was no great change in Sourav’s technique. “I don’t think there are any changes in his batting; the original deficiencies are still there — he’s still vulnerable to rising deliveries and gives tame catches to the off-side cordon. But his game has come back to normal and, most importantly, he’s got back his self-confidence,” the Maharashtra titan stated.

Ace cricket statistician, Mohandas Menon, who was there on the South African tour, recalled, “It looked like some kind of maturity had come into his batting. Even his public statements were measured and restrained. He now looks focused on cricket and has cut out the peripherals, like not wanting to be the dada anymore.”

Menon thought that Sourav’s stars twinkled brightly in South Africa because the ‘big guys’ (Dravid, Tendulkar, Sehwag and V.V.S. Laxman) did not shine. “Once these guys start scoring runs, as they surely will some time, the spotlight will shift from him. And if he doesn’t get runs he will be under pressure again,” he averred.

But Menon thinks that Sourav will seize the big stage again, “He’s a big match player and at this moment I would prefer him to Tendulkar who is not the same player anymore.”

Deliberating on the captaincy issue, Borde feels it would be unwise to sack Dravid just on the basis of this bad run. However, he is upbeat about Sourav’s prospects in the World Cup: “He’s a great fighter, he loves a challenge. I’m sure he will be an asset to the team.”

Sourav Ganguly’s stirring comeback saga is the stuff that will inspire millions —the prince of Calcutta loses his kingdom but scripts a fairy tale return, perhaps to reclaim the throne in future, the underdog who beat the odds and the system and bounced back. His success and new virtues have sent the corporates flocking to his door with their cheque books.

But having whetted appetites, the onus is on Sourav to keep the scoreboard ticking against the ‘calypso kings’ and ‘emerald islanders’ at home and the World Cup. It’s his wrist, finally, that will dictate his fate: that of prince or pauper.