One down, four to go

I think Sourav Ganguly made the declaration a little too late, and lost the opportunity to become a hero. Just like he lost the opportunity to win a series Down Under by not making the Aussies follow on in the last Test at Sydney.

Imagine if Ganguly had called it quits at the end of the Pakistan series in India, where he got his first century at his home ground of Eden Gardens, Kolkata, and his first double century in the next Test at Bangalore (both in drawn games played on 'patta' wickets designed to help India hold on to its one-nil lead in the series).

Now, although he deserves all the nice things that everyone inevitably says in such situations, his grand farewell has been shorn of some dignity because of his terrible current form, the talk of him being dropped for the current series, and the quid pro quo deal reportedly struck between him and the board - that he can have his last hurrah, provided he in turn announces his retirement before the series (something everyone obviously denies).

The only thing that will make it a decent exit for him would be to hit a century or at least a fifty of some consequence against the Aussies. That would be fitting for a man who took over the Indian team at a time when it had been undermined by the taint of match-fixing, who put some spine into the team to handle aggressive opponents like Steve Waugh's band of sledgers, and who backed new talent like Sehwag, Yuvraj, and Bhajji who had all been shunted by the establishment.

Now the writing is even more clearly on the wall for other current non-performers in the team, starting with Rahul Dravid. He may have a little bit of a breather because Krish Srikkanth chose to induct S Badrinath from his home state of Tamil Nadu, ignoring the claims of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina who are more likely to do well against international bowling, simply because they have already shown that ability in other formats of the game. But eventually, the more deserving young talent will get in and the ones hanging on by dint of their past records will have to make way.

To a lesser extent, this also applies to the Australians. I'm extremely surprised at Shaun Marsh not finding a place in the eleven for instance, despite the obvious ease with which he played in Indian conditions during the IPL. For India, there is even more proven talent available to take the place of their illustrious seniors, and I think the claim that the next gen is not yet ready is hogwash. They can never be ready because the only way you can establish your Test credentials is by playing Test cricket. What were Michael Clarke's credentials when he made his debut in India during the last series which he helped to win for Australia? I have dwelt more on this in an article I wrote for DNA - There is no alternative... Really?