Taking Guard

1st Ball
"This is not how you treat the most successful captain in Indian cricketing history" is what most Sourav Ganguly fans across the country and more so in West Bengal are screaming. I will agree with them even though I am an ex fan of the God of the off side. But unfortunately that's what it has come to be. Selected to play again for India after an injury hiatus, Ganguly found himself holed up in his hotel room all alone when he was dropped for the third test against Sri Lanka. This in spite of a match winning partnership that he was involved in. So he gets dropped for really no fault of his performance but about his fitment in the future of Indian Cricket – so say the newly appointed selectors by the newly elected BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India).

This one is a doosra. No one knew it was coming. This has beaten the batsman completely.

2nd Ball
The replacement is announced as Wasim Jaffer, the champion domestic cricket opening bat from Mumbai, not to mention an ex India failure. Great! Getting him in the team augurs well for the Indian Cricket team who have been fiddling to find a stable opening pair since the days of Sunil Gavaskar. The playing eleven is announced for the Ahmedabad test match and Wasim Jaffer is sitting in the pavilion twiddling his thumbs. This is when he would rather have served for Mumbai who are weakened by his absence, playing a crucial Ranji Trophy match against Railways. So he sits there in the Indian pavilion to go out there in the middle and show the world he is not a failure any more.

Cuts from the middle and off stump and hits the pads – HOWZZAT – Appeal turned down.

3rd Ball
Bengal are leading the Elite Group points table ahead of Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and have a good chance to win the Ranji with the way they are going. With Ganguly available it makes sense for them to use his services to guide the team to Ranji glory. With Jaffer not available for Mumbai they are weakened because he is a match winner for them and has been in sterling form.

Well pitched ball, should have been hit. Batsman misses – very bad hand eye coordination.

4th Ball
Jagmohan Dalmiya the ousted Supremo of Cricket in India and the Deal maker of World Cricket hails from Bengal and is known to have been a Ganguly Godfather. Enter Sharad Pawar, who with his power play ousts Jagmohan Dalmiya and becomes the Kingpin of the BCCI. Exit Ganguly – Enter Jaffer.

Well pitched ball, should have been hit. Batsman slashes on the offside misses again.

5th Ball
What if Ganguly comes back as Bengal Captain and takes Bengal to the Ranji Championship with both his guile and his skill as an “all-rounder” will Ganguly get back into the Indian cricket team. Chances are he will. Smart move, take the focus off him when he is down and out and bring him back on when he is on top again.

Yorker by the bowler; batsman has struggled to keep his ground.

6th Ball
In all of this what are the BCCI members doing, both the present and the erstwhile regime members. I think they are negotiating and making deals to see how they can get their people in or if need be out. I think they need a change of name from Board of Control for Cricket in India to Board for Control of Cricket in India.
Small changes for gains in greater ranges.

The doosra again, fantastic delivery, leg stump uprooted – the batsman walks back to the pavilion without scoring.

End of the Over.