Conspiracy Theories

@ Vij, Dip, Bluff .. Now we are definitely gonna win!!

"Cricket, the oft-repeated cliche goes, is a religion in India. In the face of 'poverty' and the growing economic divide in society, Indians find their hope and their despair in the performances of the Indian cricket team. So it is that cricketers, especially those who give the Indian public something to rejoice about, are gods in India."

And Ganguly is way up there in the pantheon -- India's most successful test captain ever. The "Prince of Calcutta," who was once described by Rahul Dravid, the present Indian captain, as being second to none but god while playing on the off-side, Saurav won over Indian hearts the world over by hitting a century in his test debut at Lords. Since then, he has given us many, many moments to cherish and relive, but the defining moment of Saurav's career came six years after his debut at, coincidentally, the same venue -- the home of cricket -- Lords.

The image of Saurav taking off his shirt and waving it above his head when India beat England in the finals of the Natwest Trophy symbolized not just Indian cricket but the brave, new and resurgent India of the 21st century.

Saurav epitomized a new generation of India, one that was unapologetic about its colonial history and not afraid to fight and face the outside world, bold and bare-chested. Under Saurav, the Indian cricket team, once maligned as chokers and underachievers, transformed itself into a team of fighters, who on several occasions snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. He was the Indian captain who would take the fight to the opponent on their turf. In an action mirroring the rapid strides India was making on the global stage in the IT and ITES industry segments, Saurav and his boys inspired us all to dream big -- a dream they delivered on time and again, reaching its acme during the 2004 tour of Pakistan.

My father may not be a great fan of cricket, but one could see the pride and joy in his face when India beat Pakistan, in Pakistan -- joy felt and shared by every Indian.

After the series in Pakistan, it was time to build on this foundation and take Indian cricket to the next level, where performance would be the only criterion for selection, and prima donnas would be disallowed, for the one thing Team India lacked was consistency.

The problem was that Ganguly the batsman had long vanished in a fog of mediocre performances. In order to set a high benchmark, he would have to retrace that path himself, which was not visible anymore, and he knew it. He also knew he could get away with it as long as Indian cricket was run by his godfather, Jagmohan Dalmiya, and he used this to his advantage. By doing so, Ganguly was transformed into a symbol of past glory -- a has-been -- a mascot for people unable to keep pace with the world and who blindfold themselves so they don't have to face changing times, assuming that their past deeds would be sufficient to carry them through.

Ganguly was a god in India -- a god that failed.

There is no denying his legacy and contribution to Indian cricket. There are many moments of joy that Saurav Ganguly gave us for which we should be, and are, grateful. Do those moments, and the man who made those moments possible, however, merit a place in the Indian cricket team?

"If I were a selector, I would have spoken to him. He has been the captain, has done well for the country and, looking at his contribution, we could have told him what we had in mind. Maybe after consulting him, we would have taken a decision. He deserved this much of a farewell," according to Madan Lal, the former all-rounder and not long ago a national selector for the Indian Cricket Board.

What provoked many Indians and cricket fans like me was the way Ganguly was sacked and dropped out of the Indian team in 2005.

If you study the case of Saurav Ganguly, who was sacked from the Indian team soon after Greg Chappell's appointment as the new coach, you will clearly see to what lengths these news channels had gone to smear him. Chappell was a hero then for a majority of Indian fans. Now it seems Ganguly wants to bask in his past glory, but this will only do if he plays well. If he fails to live up to people's expectations, I think there can no other chance for him to prove himself. These Indian news channels can make mountains out of molehills, so that even the slightest human error could cost Ganguly his second chance.

Not just the Indian people, but the whole world is watching Ganguly's comeback. In fact, we are all happy to see him back. Those who longed for "justice" in Ganguly's case should celebrate. No man should be smeared and humiliated in public, as he was. I personally think that these channels have pushed the false idea that Indians don't recognize past service and contribution by an individual. It doesn't matter to an Indian if you're Sachin Tendulkar or Saurav Ganguly or even Rahul Dravid -- if you fail to play well, then you are just another ordinary player and are liable to be humiliated, which is what Indian news channels have been doing to stay in business.

Such sports journalists tend to forget that human beings can commit mistakes, e.g., there can be errors in umpires' decisions, not every batsman can hit a century like Tendulkar, not every bowler can become a McGrath. Yet, sometimes, even they fail to perform well. In Australia, McGrath would be given time to improve, but in India even Tendulkar would be booed and discouraged until the selectors finally dropped him from the team.

Sure, the contribution of the Indian media in popularizing and promoting cricket is admirable, and the role of such channels and print media can't be overestimated. These media have made the game popular. Without them, players would lose their market value and source of income. We know that the Hindi news channels have made cricket a force and a common religion.

We have seen how they played a significant role in promoting cricket as a gentleman's game. We, the audiences, have grown "wise" because of the cricket fever that has engulfed the entire subcontinent.

How such broadcasting media deal with public sentiment is crucial. The Indian news channels should learn to say something favorable even when Rahul Dravid, "the Wall," fails to perform well on a given day. They should encourage players to perform even better day-by-day. Criticism should be forthcoming to encourage the players and not just to attract or increase viewership. Only then can Ganguly start playing his natural game without any mental pressure and fear of his fans' high expectations.

Under Saurav, the Indian cricket team, once maligned as chokers and underachievers, transformed itself into a team of fighters, who on several occasions snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Originally Posted by Bluffmaster

Great article ....... but dont forget it was us who criticized saurav wen he was struggling for runs ....... at dat very moment every indian cricket fan wanted him out of d team so badly ( just like now we want viru to be kicked out )....... but as soon as our team started dere loosing streak everybody started hooting for him ...... everybody forgot his terrible recent form n wanted to give him one more chance ......... i call this double standards ..... yes we all have double standards ..... wen our team is on top , we r ready to forget n forgive everything but as soon as it starts falling , its den wen we see all d poor performances ..... being a true indian supporter all i can say iz have some faith in our team n help it get over dis terrible phase