Does Ganguly want to open in ODIs?
Sourav Ganguly has dropped a hint that he may be thinking of pushing himself up the order in one-day internationals, to open the batting, once again, for India
|
|
|
Speaking to the news channel, NDTV, Ganguly said, "It could be between Sachin, Sehwag and myself. I have played as an opener in one-day cricket for some time. We need to work on it. Sehwag stands well as an opener at the moment, but whoever is in good form at that stage will open."
Ganguly and Tendulkar were India's regular opening pair for a few years, until Tendulkar missed out on a triangular in Sri Lanka, the Coca Cola Cup, in 2001. Yuvraj Singh and Sehwag were both tried as openers in his place, and Sehwag seized the day with an explosive 70-ball 100 in a crucial game against New Zealand.
Tendulkar was later demoted down the order, in a controversial move aimed at strengthening the middle order. The logic behind it was that India, then, had a problem finishing matches, and it seemed to make sense that their best batsman should fill that lacuna. But almost as soon as the tactical shift was made, voila, the finishers appeared, making Tendulkar's new role virtually redundant. Yuvraj, Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif demonstrated this by playing magnificently in the NatWest Trophy in 2002, with Yuvraj and Kaif sealing a remarkable win in the final, chasing 326 successfully after India were 146 for 5.
Deprived of the position where he was most comfortable, Tendulkar appeared unhappy, and India went through a bad run of games starting from the 2002-2003 series against New Zealand, where they lost the one-dayers 2-5. By the time the World Cup came around, Tendulkar was back where he was most comfortable - at the top of the order. His spectacular form propelled India to the final, with his memorable 98 against Pakistan regarded as one of the great one-day innings. Tendulkar finished on top of the run-scoring list in the World Cup, with 673 runs at 61 - and Ganguly, who had batted in the middle order, came second, with 465 at 58.
As the year closed, Ganguly lost his No. 3 position as well, with VVS Laxman striking a fine vein of form in that position in the VB Series. For a batsman with a penchant for innings building, and a hunger for big scores, it wasn't quite the ideal position, so Ganguly's comments, in that light, come as no surprise. But Tendulkar will clearly not be inclined to give up his position, and Sehwag has lived up to his potential at the top of the order as well.
Ganguly has opened for India in 192 one-dayers, and averages 42.52, with 19 centuries and 44 half-centuries. Sehwag has opened for India in 70 one-day internationals, averaging 38.4, with six hundreds and 11 fifties. But Tendulkar's record at that position comfortably surpasses that of his team-mates; in the 223 games he has opened in, he has scored over 10,000 runs, with 34 centuries and 48 fifties, at an average of 49.66.
Read in App
Elevate your reading experience on ESPNcricinfo App.