Team needs to rally around Ganguly

Another wrong step and Indian captain Sourav Ganguly falls into an abyss, writes Javed Miandad.

It is this moment in Sourav Ganguly's career where another wrong step and he falls into an abyss. It will be all over. Faced with similar predicament, some captains in the past have willfully withdrawn themselves from the team. Mike Denness of England did it in the 70s.

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In our subcontinent though, it is easier said than done. It is like riding the back of a tiger. You just can't get off and not face the consequence.

Everything Ganguly has earned — fame, money, pride and self-respect — is slipping out of his hand like a quicksand. He is being sucked into oblivion. As he confronts his fate, I hope his teammates are rallying around him.

They must not look him in the face and must convey a sense of complete confidence. If they withdraw in the hope it would give him space to rediscover his belief, they might, unwittingly, end up shattering him completely. He needs his men in this dark hour and they must not desert him.