Selectors should be upfront, not hide behind anonymous leaks

However, selectors need to be consistent. Otherwise they will send out confusing signals to players. Ganguly8217;s brilliant comeback also coincided with the exit of Kiran More. Now, there is a new selection committee on the horizon, one that must conform to the new qualifications for national selectors, and they cannot turn selection policy topsy-turvy. It would be nice too, and not particularly difficult, if selectors stated their objectives and reasons up front rather than through undignified, anonymous leaks.

So, either the selectors must state that they are going to give youngsters a break but that they would like Ganguly to keep playing so that if he is in form and the youngsters aren8217;t they could go back to him. Alternately, they should make it clear to him that with Kaif, Rohit Sharma and Badrinath in the wings, and the enigmatic Yuvraj around, he is officially the first of the old guard to be asked to say goodbye. If there is then that finality, and he accepts it, he should be accorded the kind of farewell someone of his stature in Indian cricket deserves.

Ganguly himself believes he has two years left and that is the kind of statement you expect from a combative cricketer who wouldn8217;t be playing today if he didn8217;t believe in himself. It is also a brave statement to make, one that neither he nor his his illustrious batchmates can really make; for the challenge comes as much from bright youngsters as from their own body and mind. The more significant statement he has made is that he will retire from all forms of the game simultaneously and not hang on to the Kolkata Knight Riders because it fetches him a lot of money. My feeling though is that he will play a couple of games in the Ranji Trophy and see if he can put together a big score. Otherwise he shouldn8217;t hang around. A player of his stature, at 36, shouldn8217;t be waiting match to match waiting for a call.

In taking this decision on Ganguly, the selectors have, or I certainly hope they have, served notice to everybody else. There are many who must feel that Rahul Dravid with an average of 33 to Ganguly8217;s 44 in the last couple of years should have felt the heat first. I think the selectors have gone with overall pedigree in much the same way I suspect they would have gone with Ganguly had the place at stake been in a one-day game. And they have a right to. It means though that there will be some pressure on Dravid now and it will be interesting to see how he reacts to the challenge.

It is imperative for him to look at this not as an examination he must pass at all cost but as an activity that he has enjoyed for close to twenty years. Everybody, cricketers, painters, portfolio managers, go through phases when they question themselves. Dravid8217;s greatness lies in the fact that he has done that all his life; his strength has always been his ability to suck every morsel of ability out of himself through a process of challenge. But he must be careful not to doubt himself too much, not to fight demons that may or may not exist.

We stand on the cusp. Either major change comes our way or we witness a thrilling battle against time.