Ganguly factor extremely sensitive and crucial

India's coach Greg Chappell has made it difficult for his Pakistan counterpart Bob Woolmer to chalk out game plans against his team because every Indian batsman today is capable of batting at any slot.

India's coach Greg Chappell has made it difficult for his Pakistan counterpart Bob Woolmer to chalk out game plans against his team because every Indian batsman today is capable of batting at any slot. It would be interesting to see how Woolmer counters that ploy during the India-Pakistan series.

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The other point that would be interesting to see is if Chappell and Rahul Dravid are brave enough to throw their batting order surprises at Pakistan. It can become very tricky and can also backfire, needless to say people have short memories in these parts of the world and past achievements can easily go down the drain by a mere mistake.

Woolmer might be under pressure because of it being a home series but Chappell will have an uphill task because of the Sourav Ganguly factor. Their feud resulted in Ganguly's sacking and then the controversial ouster after the second Test against Sri Lanka. Ganguly is the only captain to win a series in Pakistan. Now his presence in the dressing room can be destructive and might create divisions in the team if he is not treated with importance or given the respect that he deserves.

Every player should be selected on current form and that makes it interesting to watch how the Indian team management handles the situation if it decides to prefer Wasim Jaffer or Yuvraj Singh over Ganguly. Chappell's role again becomes important. But trust me, this Ganguly factor is extremely sensitive and crucial!

We respect Woolmer, because of his ability to do something different and to transform a struggling multi-talented team into a winning unit, be it Pakistan or South Africa or Warwickshire. I have the highest respect and regard for Javed Miandad, but the same team was struggling under his stint. I believe, all the great cricketers somehow find and will continue to find it difficult when they wear the coaches shoes and we have the examples of Kapil Dev, Viv Richards and Miandad. Chappell also had his share of problems early in his tenure with India after his infamous feud with Ganguly. But you don't find any more of these disputes with Pakistan. The problems between the players and coaches are basically a clash of personalities and egos.

The role of the coaches, as far as I am concerned, is to organise and coordinate quality training camps, individually discuss problems with the players, chalk out match plans and strategies, and leave the rest to the captain. Unfortunately, legends of the past go overboard and get involved in team selection and then making it an ego issue if over-ruled by the captain. The lesson we learn is simple -- both the parties need to increase their tolerance level, and accommodate each other as much as possible.

It would not be justified if I exempt Dravid from his charges. But Dravid has his own set of problems. He is coming as captain to Pakistan that is certainly the hardest tour in terms of cricket and expectation any Indian team can have.watch out for.

PTI