The demand for Sourav Ganguly’s head is steadily increasing with everyfailure of the Indian skipper but the team is solidly standing by him
25-Jun-2001The demand for Sourav Ganguly’s head is steadily increasing with everyfailure of the Indian skipper but the team is solidly standing by him.After Ganguly was dismissed for just two in yesterday’s triangularone-day series match against Zimbabwe, Melbourne Radio rang up teammanager Chetan Chauhan to know why the stylish left-hander should notbe asked to sit out and sort out his batting blues rather than be aliability to the team.”I have a lot of time for him,” was Chauhan’s cryptic reply which putan end to the issue.A desperate Ganguly also sought to draw solace from his openingpartner Sachin Tendulkar’s clean chit to his batting technique. “He(Tendulkar) has assured me that my technique is okay and I should notworry on that count,” the skipper said, while putting up a brave faceamidst continued failures.”I know the runs would come shortly. I can feel it from inside,” saidGanguly who has led India to five wins in eight Tests.But that has not prevented the critics from raising the shrill overhis inability to get the runs. The website of the company telecastingthe series is flooded with hate mails for Ganguly and questions on hisform and captaincy are appearing on the ballot boxes of various othersites.The pressure is showing on the captain who is not leaving any stoneunturned in his efforts to get back to his scoring ways. He is havingan extra session in the nets and is usually on the ground an hourbefore the team arrives for practice.This, from a man who usually does not like to bat much at the nets. “Ido not quite like batting in the nets but if that is the answer (to mybad form), so be it,” he said.In the matches too, he has tried various methods to break the shell.He briefly toyed with the idea of going on the attack to shrug off hispoor form but discarded it quickly after it failed to click, and hedid not want to be seen as an irresponsible batsman.He did not duck his responsibility even when he had to face the newball on the fourth morning of the Harare Test though it ended in anyet another failure.But it’s not the efforts but the figures alongside his name on thescoreboard that count and Ganguly needs to get those as quickly aspossible to silence his critics.In yesterday’s match, he took two wickets while bowling and thoughtthat finally his time with the bat too might have arrived. Alas, thatdid not happen and Ganguly had to be satisfied with his bowlingcontribution only.His deputy Rahul Dravid answered his detractors in style when hescored a brilliant 180 in that epic match-winning association with VVSLaxman in the second Test against Australia in Kolkata, and Gangulyknows he will have to come up with a similar effort to turn hisfortunes around.But till that happens, his – and his fans’ – agonies will continue tohaunt him.