In normal times the announcement of a new cricket captain occasions frenzied speculation about his credentials and his demeanour and everything else besides peppered with howls of protest from diehard fans of other contenders. It is a telling indication of the cynicism that currently envelops Indian cricket that Saurav Ganguly's ascent has elicited neither violent criticism nor high-decibel endorsement.If Sachin Tendulkar's impending resignation as skipper had seemed to be on the cards for days before before it finally transpired, the Prince of Calcutta's new responsibility too had been quietly dee-med inevitable. The prince has become a maharaja, but why are the celebrations so muted?It definitely cannot be because Ganguly is not worthy of the honour. If one subscribes to the slightly mystifying notion that a captain be adjudged in no small measure on the basis of his cricketing skills, he easily passes the test. In the three and a half years since his glorious century on Test debut at Lord's, the left-hander has come a long way. Not only has he rectified the chinks in his strokeplay and running between the wickets, he has chipped in with a respectable haul of wickets from time to time.Indeed, the youngster who was once dropped from the one-day XI in Toronto, to violent protests in Calcutta, put an end to any doubts about his eligibility last summer by leaving his thumb print in the record books by effortlessly piling up 183 runs in the World Cup tie against Sri Lanka. Yet, as the selectors have learnt the hard way time and again, captaining a team successfully requires not just match-winning performances, but also a certain temperament and character.In this context it is significant that in a short span of three years Ganguly's on-field persona has changed dramatically. If hints of arrogance and flamboyance earlier resulted in a niggling suspicion about a streak of selfishness, they now strike a healthy contrast to Tendulkar's insurmountable introvertishness. And if anyone harboured reservations about the Little Master's resignation, popular wisdom that captaincy has a deleterious effect on his batting has amply scotched them.And therein lies the minefield. That Ganguly could make an inspiring and innovative captain is beyond doubt. But it is equally difficult to buy the argument that India's dismal season Down Under be attributed to poor captaincy alone. Tendulkar's str- atagems may have seemed a trifle bewildering at times, but the genesis of the defeats lay in the chopping and changing of the playing eleven that so animates our selectors, and in the myopic training offered to our cricketers.It is this disgusting spectacle of humiliation being heaped upon the best batsman in the world that makes one wary of hailing Ganguly's captaincy. For, it would be a great tragedy if he were elevated only to be conveniently knocked off the pedestal by a cricket board ever eager to pass the buck. And like Tendulkar, Ganguly has served Indian cricket too well to be deserving of that inevitability.
