The right captain

UMPIRE'S POST

Sourav Ganguly should have been at the helm of the Test team for this series against Australia.

Including Sourav Ganguly in the team to play Australia may not quite be the “reprieve” for him that it is being made out to be. Surely, it has provided him an unexpected chance to extend his international career, which seemed to have hit a wall after he was dropped from the Rest of India team that played the Irani Trophy.

However, his inclusion in the Test side appears to have been borne more out of necessity than a sympathetic gesture to the so-called seniors.

Things will become clear when India bowls against Australia. Ganguly’s 32 Test wickets at over 52 runs apiece are far from exceptional, but that is because as captain he avoided bowling. His 100 ODI wickets at an average of under 39, too, could have been a lot better. If Ganguly bowls like Kumble has bowled him of late, very much like the fifth bowler, the second scenario will be reaffirmed.

At home, India feels compelled to play two spinners. Given that the two are obviously world-class and Indian pitches support slow bowling, there is nothing else to be done. We also like to play six batsmen. That leaves room only for two seam bowlers and Dhoni. But two seam bowlers are never adequate.

By including Ganguly, the selectors give the team the much-needed fifth bowler. Besides, Ganguly provides solidity to the batting line-up, which, too, is much-needed because Dhoni has not proved himself to be as good a batsman in Tests as he is in ODIs.

Actually, Ganguly should have been the captain. Many people now talk about how Pietersen, with his frank aggression and ability to get the best out of fellow players, is transforming England. Ganguly first did that eight years ago and continued to do it for the next six.

When he took over the captaincy after the match-fixing exposes in 2000, he proved to be a tough, intuitive and uncompromising leader. It was only under him that India finally learnt to win Test matches away from home.

Unfortunately, he cannot be made captain, now that Kumble is in charge and has put up a reasonable display so far. But Kumble, or anyone since Gavaskar, is not a patch on Ganguly when it comes to captaining the side.

Besides, Kumble’s utility to the side is not diminished if he takes part merely as a senior pro. Ganguly’s does. He had so much to give as the Captain that he appears to be grossly underutilised when playing merely as a batsman and the fifth bowler.

This is when one begins to feel the true impact of Greg Chappell’s role in Indian cricket. He dismantled India’s best captain.