No freedom, only pressure

Indian cricket spent most of this week in a bizarre, teary eyed, lump-in-the-throat haze.

Indian cricket spent most of this week in a bizarre, teary eyed, lump-in-the-throat haze. This Australia series is Sourav Ganguly8217;s last, and with theories such as VRS schemes and boardroom deals dismissed, a lot of energy was spent on celebrating the former skipper for the steel he injected into the spine of Indian cricket. The retirement announcement was hailed as the silver lining these Tests would always be associated with, like the 2003-04 tour Down Under is always instantly linked to Steve Waugh.

But every silver lining has a dark cloud in front of it. And while there8217;s no doubt that the contribution of Ganguly, and all the others of the so-called Fab Five, will eventually live beyond one or two series, the glare of the spotlight will be that much harsher over the next four matches.

If the Great Indian Middle-order needed to be put under any extra pressure in this age of instant cricket and immediate glorification, Ganguly8217;s retirement announcement has ensured the strain will multiply. For all the talk of batting with freedom post-announcement, one month is a long time in Indian cricket. The extended swansong for the former captain will mean that the mob culture that accompanies the sport will start losing patience quickly if Ganguly, or any of the other three senior batsmen, fail to perform in the first Test itself. By the end of the second, the calls are capable of becoming so loud that the fabulous farewell tour could get derailed faster than many experts are willing to acknowledge.

So the onus, more than ever, is on Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman to hit the ground running in Bangalore today, especially after the Australian middle-order and the Indian openers have shown what can be done on the Chinnaswamy pitch if a batsman is patient and willing.

Just the extent of coverage given by news channels to the fielding mistakes of the four yesterday 8212; especially two mis-fields by Ganguly and Tendulkar 8212; was proof of how quickly the tide can turn with the media trying desperately to find new angles.

Controversy again

In Ganguly8217;s case, the interview published in Bengali newspaper Aaj Kaal has anyway not made things any easier for him. Soon after his retirement announcement, it seemed Ganguly was ensuring that the media, especially his friends in newspapers, were kept at a distance. If there was indeed any bitterness, it seemed he wanted to control how much of it came out, at least till the end of the series.

But in the vernacular daily, a 8220;humiliated8221; Ganguly reportedly lashed out at the selectors and at some of his own team mates in no uncertain terms. While the players have kept mum so far, former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has reacted by saying that Ganguly will get 8220;more than he has asked for8221; once the series is over.

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When we spoke to Ganguly yesterday, he denied he had made the statements attributed to him. For now, the veracity of the interview is his word against the paper8217;s, but to be embroiled in a raging controversy at a time like this does not bode well for Ganguly.

For a player who wanted to bat with freedom in his last Test series 8212; a tall order at the outset 8212; this can only act as a hindrance. It8217;ll be interesting if the latest storm, on top of the already heightened emotional burden, ends up taking a toll on his batting.