da aviator aposta： Sourav Ganguly thanked his team-mates for the “outstanding” support that hadfacilitated his return to the side after nearly a year away
Dileep Premachandran at Johannesburg17-Dec-2006
‘It’s part of professional sport. You getdropped and you come back again’ © AFP
With India on the verge of a historic Test victory in South Africa, SouravGanguly thanked his team-mates for the “outstanding” support that hadfacilitated his return to the side after nearly a year away. He wasfulsome in his praise for the bowlers who have put India in a position ofsuch strength in this game, and there were also encouraging words for theman who succeeded him as captain.Wearing a blue India T-shirt, and peppering his answers with theoccasional half-smile, Ganguly spoke eloquently about his return fromexile, and the breathtaking turnaround in fortunes that he has been partof over the past three days. “It’s not just Zaheer or Sreesanth,” he said,when asked to pick out the standout performers. “It was also the fieldswhich Rahul [Dravid] set, which have been outstanding and forced them tobowl certain lengths. And they swung the ball.”Like every other senior pro, he said that he too had shared the oddsuggestion with Dravid as India strove to finish the game inside threedays. “We all do at times,” he said. “But we don’t want to complicatethings for him because he’s thinking certain things on his own. Butwhenever required, we do.”Having played his last Test match at Karachi back in January, Ganguly saidthat the months in between hadn’t seen him riddled with doubt. “I felt Iwas good enough,” he said. “I felt I still had it in me to playinternational cricket. And I always believe it’s always to try than giveup. It’s come full circle, you could say. When you arrive at this level,you have to be tough to survive for 11 or 12 years.”He refused to point fingers at anyone for missed chances, saying that noindividual had been immune to the selectors’ axe. “We are making too muchof a person being dropped or a person being brought back,” he said.”Rahul’s been dropped from one-day cricket for a year, he’s come back.Somebody like Anil Kumble has been dropped. The only guy who has not beendropped in this team is Sachin. It’s part of professional sport. You getdropped and you come back again.”He was grateful for the public support that came his way while he spenttime on the periphery, but added that he hoped it would be the case forevery Indian cricketer who was going through a rough patch. “It’s beennice, but I am not surprised,” he said. “I’m sure that if Dravid or Kumblehad been dropped, it would have been the same support because these guyshave also been huge contributors to Indian cricket. Or Sachin. Sachinwill never get dropped [smiles].”According to him, the time away from the national team hadn’t been anordeal. “It wasn’t tough at all, being away from the game,” he said. “Ienjoyed my time with the Bengal boys. It’s a great dressing room there,lot of talented players.”He insisted that nothing much had changed on his return. “I have donenothing different,” he said. “I’ve worked a lot on my fitness, playeddomestic cricket, worked a lot on little things in my technique and justplayed. I’ve realised in the last seven or eight months that cricket isnot everything. And I had the mindset that I would try. If it happens, ithappens, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. It’s good that I’m back and I canplay.”The South Africans had spoken in the build-up to the game about how theyhad special plans for every batsman, but Ganguly showed considerable gritand application on his way to scores of 51 not out and 25. “It was justout of experience, knowing what the conditions will be, knowing what theywill try to bowl at you,” he said, when asked how he had handled it.”This is my fourth trip to South Africa. I have been to Australia aboutthree times. It was just the experience of playing under these conditions.When you have been in these parts of the world, you have a picture of howyou had played and what adjustments need to be made. Obviously, I haveworked hard over the seven or eight days since I have come here.”He reckoned that he was still good enough to represent India in both formsof the game – Ganguly last played a one-day match in September 2005 – butrefused to look as far ahead as the World Cup. “It’s still some distanceaway,” he said. “But it’s just not this performance. I hope myperformances in one-day cricket will be noticed. And if everything goeswell, I hope I’ll get an opportunity.”Asked whether his wealth of experience would count in his favour, hemerely said: “No, it’s performance which has a place in both forms of thegame.”When someone tried to suggest that the upswing in the team’s fortunes hadcoincided with his return, he laughed. “I hope it continues,” he said.”That’s important. When you pick the right team, you are always going toget the results.”As for the game itself, he could only see one outcome. “We should win,” hesaid. “If we don’t win from this position, we should not get back to thedressing room,” he added with a smile. “But the way we’re bowling, I’msure we’re going to win.”Millions of Indians will certainly hope so.