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Changing times unite Big Three
With the team on a downswing, Sourav Ganguly's experience is being seen as a definite advantage, writes Kadambari Murali.
Their form might be iffy but the old guard seems to be back.
Just before dinnertime on Wednesday night, anyone walking through the lobby at the Willows Hotel at Potchefstroom could have raised their heads and seen a rare and gratifying sight. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were engaged in a long and animated conversation on the steps leading to the first floor.
The Indian skipper seemed to be the one doing more of the talking, even while he kept one eye on his 14-month old son Samit, who was toddling about the stairs. Ganguly too watched indulgently, even as he nodded at whatever Dravid was saying, apparently in concord.
Even as they parted ways, Ganguly walked back towards the gym and called out to Dravid, walking down, to tell Sachin Tendulkar where he was if he met him in the lobby. Sure enough, five minutes later, Tendulkar walked into the lobby looking for Ganguly and Dravid, in turn, told him where he was.
The two former Indian skippers — one a born genius who conquered all before him but failed to come to terms with his throne, and the other, once a rebel without a cause who was almost born again when he went on to make the crown his own — apparently went out to dinner together.
By all accounts, Ganguly’s return to the team has been far more welcoming than anyone thought. With the team on a downswing, the mood is less ebullient, less charged, more introspective and Ganguly’s experience (whatever the tumultuous events of the past year and whatever anyone thinks about his perceived lack of ability on bouncy wickets) is being seen as a definite advantage.
Another factor that has probably played a part is the fact that his nemesis, coach Greg Chappell, is far more subdued at the moment, given the way the Indians have been playing.
As this series has progressed and the batsmen have hurled themselves down what looks like the road to perdition with increasing alacrity, he has moved from angry and irate to deeply upset and perhaps, strangely acquiescent.
A year ago, Chappell’s star was on the rise, he could do no wrong in the eyes of millions of Indians and Ganguly, who lost out in his very public clash with Chappell, was thrown out on his ear, with almost everyone nodding that it was time someone did it.
Those same fickle millions who asked for his head with bone-chilling enthusiasm have desperately asked that he be back, and he is. Now whether he can be the saviour of the masses on this troubled tour of South Africa remains to be seen. This next chapter, we dare not say last, is as yet unwritten.
