Dravid, Ganguly

Four, possibly a few more, of the game’s greats departed the splendoured arena of instant cricket today; only two were granted the sentiment of a sendoff.

Adam Gilchrist and Brad Hogg went off in a blaze of praise, carrying a crystal vase each, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (and V.V.S. Laxman, don’t forget) were interred sans ceremony. You could almost see them vaporising in the confetti haze as M.S. Dhoni’s young guns shot the champagne fountain-high midfield at the Gabba.

It was a sweet moment with a bitter undertug — a joyous burial for icons still in their prime. These boys have gained us a fabulous trophy; they’ve also lost us some of our best and well-loved men.

Remember Taunton in the 1999 World Cup game against Sri Lanka? Ganguly 183, Dravid 153, the partnership: 318. Remember Hyderabad against the Kiwis later that year? Dravid 153, Sachin Tendulkar 186, the partnership: 331, still a world record. Ganguly has 22 ODI hundreds, an average of 41 and a strike rate of 73.7. Dravid has 12 hundreds, an average of 40 and, in case you thought he’s a plodder, his strike rate rivals Ganguly’s. It’s 71.22.

Other than Tendulkar, nobody in Dhoni’s team comes even close to rivalling that; the odds are, they won’t for a long time to come. But too bad, what good are legends when bits and parts can make a success story?

We’ll probably never see Ganguly and Dravid turn out in the India blues again; that’s decidedly a prospect of deeper shades. Pity is, in his hour of glory, the new general was unfeeling and non-cognisant about effecting sudden death. “We brought in youngsters and left the seniors out… my team was playing in the toughest conditions… it can’t get better than this….”

Both Ganguly and Dravid await — probably deserve — a call, but Dhoni’s made it plain he isn’t bothered making it.

Bye-bye, gritty God on the off-side; ta-ta, the Wall. Your captain can furrow his brow and frown on your fate, your fans can rage and rail, your record, oh you can’t quarrel with that but we can only accommodate 11 on a day, no more, and they’re world-beaters. You can’t quarrel with that either.

Cricket historian Ramchandra Guha has sounded a word of caution on putting the elders in cold storage, saying: “Without Sachin, neither victory would have been possible. That needs to be remembered.”

But his old mate and cricket writer Mukul Kesavan says tough luck. The return of Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman is “next to impossible” in his book. “Dhoni wanted a team and got it. People questioned the selection, but the team has proven everyone wrong, now Dhoni will push even harder for youngsters,” Kesavan said.

Former India captain Ajit Wadekar agreed. “It will not be easy for the seniors to make a comeback. Dhoni has led the team well and will have more say in selection now.”

Kesavan thought the door’s not completely shut on the greats. There is the opportunity of a comeback by performing “brilliantly” in the IPL.

But Wadekar, who led India to fabled and unprecedented victories in England and the Caribbean in 1971 with youngsters like Sunil Gavaskar and Eknath Solkar in his team, was downbeat on that. “The IPL too may not provide them a comeback. After all, it is a Twenty20 championship,” he said.

Even diehard fans at home are beginning to concede the day of the greats may be up. Said Jishhu Sengupta, actor and former Bengal under-19 cricketer: “As Bengalis, we will always be emotional about Sourav Ganguly. We will always be there for Sourav. But you have to be practical after a point. If the young cricketers are performing so well we have to accept them and move on.”

Leave your emotions at home when you come to the new field of play, ladies and gentlemen, and it’s okay if you’re not offering your greats the favour of a farewell.