Time to bid Ganguly goodbye, says Wadekar
*PTI
February 20, 2006*
Ajit Wadekar, the former India captain, said it was time for Sourav Ganguly to step down. Kiran More, the selection committee chairman, had on Saturday refused to confirm whether Ganguly would be considered for the first Test against England starting in Nagpur on March 1. The squad for that match will be announced in Baroda on February 23.
“There is no harm in Ganguly being included in the side but I suppose the time has come [for him to end his career]. The Aussies told Steve Waugh when it was time for him to step down,” Wadekar told PTI.
Wadekar, also a former coach and chief selector, said even if Ganguly was picked for the Test series against England, it would only be a stop-gap arrangement. “Let us be frank. Let us face the fact. The team is winning without Sourav, the youngsters are doing well and it is time to tell Sourav ‘thank you very much. This is your last year’, it should be like that,” he said.
Wadekar, who was chairman of selectors when both Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their Test debut in England in 1996, claimed that the team management was “forced” to include Ganguly in the team for the Test series against Pakistan. He also criticised the move to open the batting with Dravid to enable Ganguly to be in the final XI. “I think that was wrong,” Wadekar said. “We had three specialist openers, and they were thinking of Sourav also as a opener, just to accommodate him. Wasim Jaffer could have gone to see Pakistan any time. I mean, you have three specialist openers, and you cannot make them passengers. The ideal number for Rahul is three in the batting and he should stick to that.”
He was, however, all praise for Dravid. “He is a guy who leads from the front. Look at the difference between him and Inzamam,” he said. “He decided to open the batting himself, even against [Greg] Chappell’s wishes, because he wanted to shield Sourav, whereas Inzamam tried to shield himself by coming in at number six (in the one-dayers). Dravid is a thinker and a cool guy.”
On the forthcoming series, Wadekar felt that England sides toured the subcontinent with the wrong attitude. “They come with a suspicious mind - ‘the wicket is going to be bad, climate is going to go against them’, as if it is in our hands,” he said. “They want all the facilities in the world, which we don’t get when we go there. We have a lot to talk about them but we don’t grumble, we just focus on our cricket. So by the time they get out of that mindset, the tour is over.”
England have visited India 11 times in more than 70 years of Test rivalry between the two teams and they have won only four series in India. In 46 Tests on Indian soil, the hosts have a 12-10 head-to-head record.
More non-committal on Ganguly’s selection
- February 19, 2006*
Kiran More, the selection committee chairman, today refused to confirm whether Sourav Ganguly would be considered for the first Test against England starting in Nagpur on March 1. The squad for that match will be announced in Baroda on February 23.
More, however, denied that Ganguly’s career was over saying “if Sourav continues to perform, no one can stop him from playing for India. But it is still early to comment on the team for the first Test and we will see how things go,” More told PTI. “It would be unjustified to say that only Sourav has a challenge on his hands in the presence of the youngsters who have excelled on this tour. I think it is a challenge for everyone. The best thing about this team is that there is a lot of competition which is a healthy sign.”
More said that the door had not been shut on any player. “In one-day cricket, even VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble, besides Sourav, remain in contention. The important thing is that they are playing cricket and can be called if and when required.”
The three players were excluded for the one-day series against Pakistan. More took a swipe at some former cricketers who have accused him of being a “rubber stamp” and a “toothless” chief selector. “They are sitting on various television channels and need to speak something different. They have no clue what they are talking and what damage they are causing to the team,” fumed More. "Besides, they are highly paid and need to speak things that are controversial, have spice and can glue the viewers on the television screens.
“Prior to the start of the series, they were questioning the credentials of Rahul Dravid as captain, the form of Sachin Tendulkar and emphasising on the negative effects Ganguly’s presence would have on the team,” More continued. “These proved to be nothing but rubbish. I agree that when the team is winning, the job of the selectors becomes easy. But we take decisions which we think are in the best interests of the country and the team.”
Turning to the performance of the team on the Pakistan tour, More expressed satisfaction but added that India needed more quality fast bowlers and safer fielders. “Generally, fielding has been good and there has been a marked improvement. But still, we did not field well in the Tests and need to certainly improve in that area. We have a few good fast bowlers but we need more as today teams require quality fast bowlers to pressurise the opponents. Of course, when we talk of quality, there are several things included and pace is certainly very high on that list.”
