Is the Sourav Ganguly brigade nearing its end?

What makes a great captain? Instead of trying to define it in layman’s terms, it might be well worth the effort to look at great captains who had left a legacy. Great skippers like Clive Lloyd and Allan Border never had things offered to them on a platter. They forged winning sides from scratch and morphed talented but raw individuals into world beaters. Another skipper who falls into that bracket is Sourav Ganguly. He showed the world that India can win away from home, on fast, bouncy or seamy pitches.

But a significant contribution for which Ganguly isn’t credited enough is the number of star players he hand-picked and nurtured. Yuvraj Singh, Man of the 2011 World Cup tournament,was mentored by Ganguly in the infancy of his cricketing career. Cricket lovers would always remember how Yuvraj, repaid Ganguly’s faith, by striking a partnership with his U-19 skipper, Mohammad Kaif to win the Natwest 2002 finals.

Sourav Ganguly (L), pictured here in 2007, shares a joke with Yuvraj Singh (R). The former skipper played a huge role in nurturing the career of the southpaw from Punjab. (Getty Images)

Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were three other players who blossomed under Ganguly. Without a tinge of doubt, it was Ganguly’s perseverance that made them evolve into world class players. Zaheer and Yuvraj Singh broke into the team at the same time, making a mark immediately in the Champions Trophy that saw India reach the finals. Zaheer was also one of India’s pace spearheads during the impressive 2003 World Cup campaign, where Australia was the only team that could defeat India. Harbhajan Singh almost single-handedly destroyed the Aussies in the 2001 Test series, where he picked 32 wickets in just 3 matches, in a series where the next highest wicket tally was Sachin Tendulkar’s 3 wickets. There was something about Ganguly that empowered these players.

A few years hence, the Ganguly brigade has entirely disappeared from the Test and ODI squads. Harbhajan, who got a rope in the previous series, allowing him to complete 100 Test matches, was overlooked for the Champions Trophy. The same was true for Yuvraj, who hasn’t done anything of note since his comeback series against England. Sehwag was dropped in favour of Shikhar Dhawan during the recently concluded Australia series and it is highly unlikely that he will be picked for the South Africa tour later this year, unless Sachin surprises all by calling it quits. Sehwag, barring the 95 against Mumbai Indians hasn’t really fired even in the IPL. India will play a tri-nation tournament in West Indies towards the end of June, Sri Lanka being the third side. One would wonder though, if Sehwag would be offered a chance to appear in that tournament, an unlikely scenario barring an injury scare to any in the current crop of ODI openers.

Zaheer might still have a chance to make it to the tour but with the IPL sprinting towards its concluding stages, he doesn’t have many chances to show the selectors that he can still contribute. The Champions Trophy where he first burst on to the international scene with aplomb could have resurrected his career. But, the selectors don’t seem to be in a mood to take risks with his recovery still not complete from an injury. With Bhuvaneshwar Kumar doing so well and Umesh Yadav back to bowling fast, there is little chance for Zaheer in the squad. Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan have also done their credentials no harm with their performances in the IPL.

Interestingly indeed, Dhoni’s men, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay are all still favoured and rightly so, given the strength of their recent international and IPL performances. The baton is being passed and a new order is being established. What remains to be seen is whether Dhoni’s young brigade actually justify his unwavering faith in them and win India matches where it matters, like in the Champions Trophy in England and in South Africa.

Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh (L), Virender Sehwag (C) and Zaheer Khan (R), pictured here in 2003, speak with each other. The trio brought into the Indian set-up by Ganguly, are slowly being ousted by a crop of youngsters led by current skipper MS Dhoni. (Getty Images)

It is too early to drop the curtains on Sehwag, Bhajji, Zaheer or Yuvraj. While Sehwag and Zaheer have to deal with fitness issues, Harbhajan has been demoted to No.4 on the favoured spinners list, with Amit Mishra being picked ahead of him for England. Yuvraj, who is still on the right side of 30s’ unlike the other three, might still come steaming back into the side. In Jadeja, Yuvraj has a very strong contender for the No.7 spot. Jadeja is regarded, by Dhoni, as a better bowler, although he is nowhere near the class of Yuvraj with the bat.

It remains to be seen if the will to persevere and prove the detractors wrong is still alive. If yes, one can safely say that they have learnt all the right things from their mentor. All four of them have had reasonably successful careers that include a World Cup win. If the desire to play has been vanquished by lethargy and self-doubt, Ganguly wouldn’t really be a happy man and one only hopes they make one final belligerent comeback drenched in panache.