Fall guy?

Sourav Ganguly's ODI exclusion adds a new chapter to his tale of controversies, writes Anupam Thapa.

Controversy could now be the official middle name of Sourav Ganguly. Ever since captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell took the reins of the Indian cricket team, Kolkata's Maharaj has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

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And now, with Dada dropped from the ODIs in Pakistan despite a brave show with the bat on the seamer's paradise pitch at Karachi, even janta sympathy seems to be swinging Sourav's way. Angry pundits More importantly, even many among the pundits are now voicing their displeasure. Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, for one, has openly panned selectors for dropping Sourav Ganguly from the ODIs in Pakistan, terming it as an "unjustified decision". Sidhu was quoted as saying: "Why was Sourav not considered for the ODI squad even after a polished 34 runs in the ongoing Karachi Test? What could have prompted the selectors to drop him? This is certainly not the way to treat a national hero."

Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev, too, had come out in Sourav's favour when he was excluded from the Faisalabad Test squad earlier. "He is being insulted," Kapil had said. "It is very painful." The context hasn't changed much since then. Confusing tactics Even Chappell and Dravid's tactics in handling Sourav in the Tests is facing flak. First, questions have been raised over Ganguly be ing denied the opening slot. And many others have pointed out that Sourav was deliberately kept out of the second Test at Faisalabad, a predominantly batsman's pitch. Scorecard says it all Which brings us to a comparative analysis of Sourav's show at Karachi (the only chance he has had to bat in the ongoing series), vis a vis other `successful' top-order batsmen. While Dada scored 34 runs in the first innings, Dravid scored 3, Sehwag managed 5, Laxman gathered 19, Sachin 23.

And if Chappell has done away with Sourav, rumour mills suggest that the next one to face the axe could be Sachin Tendulkar. If Sourav, arguably India's best captain, has `left his best days behind', the logic could also apply to Sachin, without doubt the world's greatest batsman.

A Sourav versus Sachin scorechart, in this context, throws up interesting stats. Comparing figures of the last 20 ODIs both have played, Sourav has scored 514 runs (out in single figures eight times; not out once), while Sachin has scored 568 runs (out in single figures nine times; not out once).

Which raises the vital question: What exactly are the BCCI selection committee's criteria while choosing a team? Dada, for one, will ponder over that question.