Selectors mull over appointing Sourav Bengal captain

“It’s not a bad idea to appoint Sourav as captain. But will he make himself available for all the matches? We have to talk to him and the coach before taking a decision,” chief selector Sambaran Banerjee told The Indian Express.

There’s a school of thought that falling back on Ganguly will be taking a step back. But sometimes,a step backward can open up a window to a brighter future. In Wriddhiman Saha,Bengal have a cricketer for the future. The stumper,who turned 25 on Saturday,is already on the national selectors’ radar and hasn’t given it to the lure of IPL. He can be a suitable candidate for the vice-captaincy. Nothing can be better for a youngster to work as Ganguly’s understudy.

“The problem with Wriddhiman is that he has never captained even at the club level. Still,it’s an option worth considering,” the chief selector said.

Banerjee himself was instrumental in appointing Ganguly Bengal captain in 1998 ahead of his seniors. The move helped him edge past Rahul Dravid for the captaincy after Sachin Tendulkar relinquished the job in 2000-2001.

Falling back to an old guard in times of crisis is nothing new in cricket. The BCCI did it in 1974-75 when Tiger Pataudi was asked to take charge after Ajit Wadekar threw in the towel following a disastrous England tour. Australia also did it by brining back Bobby Simpson from retirement and making him captain when India toured Down Under in 1977. The top-line Australian cricketer had broken away from the mainstream and joined the Packer circus. A second-string Australia under Simpson beat India in the home rubber.

Ganguly is widely accepted as India’s greatest ‘war-time general’. He is always available to lend his home state a supporting hand. If persuaded properly,he is unlikely to say “no” to this offer.

The selectors had bungled big-time by resorting to trial-and-error method for captaincy at the start of the season. Ranadeb Bose led the team in the Moin-ud-Dowla Trophy,while Shukla was in charge at the JP Atray tournament. Shukla,who led Bengal last season,was preferred over the burly seamer for the East Zone T20 meet. The selectors wanted to put Shukla on trial,but the move gave a wrong signal to the players and Shukla has been fast losing command over his team mates.

Deep Dasgupta is another option for the job. “There’s no directive from the CAB that former ICL players shall not be considered for captaincy,” said a selector. Still,coming back from a rebel league and getting the plum post straightaway will complicate matters and will affect team spirit. Ganguly’s command over the team will be unquestionable.

The CAB too is not against the idea of appointing Ganguly Bengal captain. “We will definitely think over it provided he (Ganguly) gives his consent,” CAB joint-secretary Biswarup Dey told this daily.

Meanwhile,after three losses,Bengal got back to the winning ways in the East Zone T20 meet at Dhanbad by beating Tripura by 24 runs in their concluding fixture.