Ganguly will make a good captain, say former players

As the news of Saurav Ganguly's elevation to the top post in Indian cricket spread around Calcutta, there was much rejoicing all around. Pictures of the stylish left hander were suddenly garlanded at street corners and fire crackers were burst in the locality that he stays in Behala. And no doubt the happiest man in the city was Saurav's father Chandi Ganguly.

"What can I say," said the senior man of the house. "It is the greatest honour for any cricketer and we are overjoyed and thankful to God that Saurav has been able to achieve it," said Mr. Ganguly. "During the dark days between the period 1992-96, I just used to tell him to work hard and not think about the results. He has really put in a lot of hard work and the effort has paid off."

All the four phones in the Ganguly mansion constantly kept ringing and Saurav's mother had a harrowing time answering the calls. She had a high fever, but that really did not seem to bother her. "What can a mother say on such an occasion" was her first comment. "My blessings are with him so that he can also be successful in his new role."

Another person elated at Saurav's success, was his first skipper on his debut in first class cricket, Samabaran Bannerjee. "Time seems to fly. It was only the other day, that a 17-year old made his debut under my captaincy in the Ranji Trophy final in 1989-90. Today, he is the first citizen of Indian cricket. He has proved that talent cannot be ignored. That incidentally was my last first class match and it was an honour to lead the future Indian captain," said Bannerjee. The former Indian selector also added, "there was lot of cynicism when he was selected for the 1996 English tour. People criticised me for pushing him into the Indian side. What will they say now? Saurav has silenced them."

Bannerjee also feels that Indian cricket will come out of its present depressing state under Ganguly. "He has got the courage in him to lift a side," concluded Bannerjee.

Former Indian opening batsman Pankaj Roy, who was a stand-in captain for India in one Test at Lord's in 1959, was also happy. However, he had a word of caution. "Leading India is a difficult proposition. But I am confident that Ganguly will be able to carry it off successfully. He has already proved that he has the ability to lead."

Ganguly's teammate and colleague Saba Karim feels that Saurav will make a great captain. "He is a great motivator and communicates very well with his mates. That makes him an excellent man-manager, an essential requisite for any captain," said Karim. He is also of the opinion, that Ganguly will be successful because he never allows the opposition to play on their terms. "He always forces the opposition to play to his liking. He never allows the game to drift, is flexible with his planning and above all has the ability to pinpoint the weakness in the opposition, qualities that a good captain possesses," added Karim.

If Saurav's father is the happiest man at the moment, the most satisfied man is his coach Debu Mitra. Talking at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, Mitra said, "When Ganguly came back from Australia in 1992, a section of the media used to talk to me with sarcasm against Saurav. They used to taunt me for being his coach. Today I can hit back at them. When I got the news yesterday, I broke down in tears. God has been great to me. I am thankful that he had given me a diamond called Saurav."

Mitra also feels that the new Indian captain will be successful. "To be a good captain one needs to have some sort of education. Saurav has always been good at studies. That is the main reason why he will turn out to be more successful than a number of his predecessors. However, he really does not have the bowling to back him up. Clive Lloyd became a great captain because he had the four fast bowlers," concluded Mitra.