Scratch my back

The Chappel-Ganguly spat is out into the open and it now is embarassingly evident that the captain and the coach differ in wavelength. The team management shuffles in its crease to sweep the issue under the carpet. However, things like these never escape the ever drooling tongue of the media for which this is a third base fetish. When Chappel took over earlier this year, many expected a 'poetry in motion' captain-coach combination. This frame was shred earlier last week when Ganguly was asked to step down.


''The darkest hour of the night is the one before dawn''- Ganguly is an agressor of a captian and has moulded the 'not so bad' team into what it is today. However, we fail to finish as the 19 final losses suggest. A loss in the final will always hurt more than those in the league matches. The most successful Indian captain of all time has indeed burnt out. So has his form with the bat, but his heroics in the past have saved his career stats the blushes. One may argue that Ganguly had the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Sehwag playing alongside him, but it takes a great deal of guile and vibes to get the best out of your cavalry. It is but unfortunate that a super skipper like Saurav's past his best as a leader and a batter. It is time to hang those boots and start a talent tapping academy for which he seems to have a knack as it is he who has nourished numerous embryonic careers in the domestic and the international arena.


The ever improving Kaif never ceases to impress with his gritty and wristy batting and on the field with his invisible wings and magnetic digits. Playing him against a semi-rebel Zimbabwean lineup would have provided an impetus to his skills and confidence. But who sits out? I'm afraid skippa, i think we can do without you....