Should Sourav Ganguly have played IPL 2012?

The IPL 2012 has thus far been able to sustain the suspense on which teams will make it to the play-offs. Stepping aside from questions pertaining to that, there are other marquee questions related to the two teams sticking out like sore thumbs at the bottom of the table – Pune Warriors India and Deccan Chargers. Even now, they can play season defining roles by pulling off upset victories in the coming games. For that to happen, retrospection and a few changes to the teams has to be made. Already, Sourav Ganguly stepped out of the team last night to give chance to some youngster but the result was no different for PWI.

Coming to think of that particular decision,the one prominent question that remains from PWI’s perspective -

‘Should Sourav Ganguly have played IPL 2012?’

A nightmarish IPL for Sourav and PWI

It is quite easy to give the answer ‘No’ after looking at where PWI stand now. But, the same ‘No’ would not have been the answer when they started off the season on a roll defeating teams that are topping the tables now. That’s why they say “Life is a game played forward and analysed backward”. How convenient is it to criticise his decision to play in the 2012 edition now than two weeks before when PWI started off the season so well?

There are quite a number of opinions on the ‘Ganguly in IPL – 5 Should he OR Shouldn’t have he played?’ debate

For someone who says:

“Looking at the teams and captains of teams, only Sourav and Gilchrist are players who have been out of international action for a long time. The fact that one had to sit out on bench and the other had to fail time and again has more correlation with their periods of inaction” (which is a completely agreeable point in argument!)

Or

“It would have helped a young talent get the due exposure if Sourav had decided not to play the IPL”

Or

“He did it for the money”

Or

“Unlike other contemporaries, He is well past his prime”

The questions that could be posed are:

Would you have expected Gilchrist to fail the way he did in the initial games?

How many of your friends had shared the match-defining ‘knocking-the-timber’ ball to Kevin Pietersen and his celebratory-run after it?

Is IPL not about entertainment & Did Sourav not feature as the most popular captain a few days back?

Was Ganguly’s presence the only reason for PWI’s downfall?

Did he have the resources he could marshal with? Didn’t they rely too much on the trio of Ryder, Smith and Sourav for scoring runs?

Did their bowling line-up have a Narine, a Morkel, a Malinga or a Hilfenhaus in it?

How many matches did men like Sachin, Dravid win for their own teams; Didn’t their teams have other match winners?

Did Sourav not play a role in Bengal’s first Vijay Hazare tournament win this season?

Lastly, Wouldn’t the broadcasters have offered him a bomb of a salary had he chosen to do what he does best these days? Critique the performances of team sitting cosily at the commentary box and have his I said so’ moments when what he predicts happens on field.

A moment that typically captures Sourav's character!

There is a reason why he did not sit-out. It’s because that is not what runs in his blood. It is not typical of him to come to such gentlemanly decisions without giving it that final attempt. He is no Laxman and he is no Kumble. These are men who, even with the slightest of self-doubts, might decide it’s time. Sourav isn’t. He will give it his all to see if he can eke out the last that is left in him even if it means he has to take a few brickbats when he tests himself on the field. He is too proud a person to give up easily. That is what has won him a legion of fans and probably, an equal number of critiques.

He could have said ‘No’ when he had to take up and regroup a team that was in shambles after the betting saga. He didn’t. He could have given up when he was dropped from the team post the Greg Chappel saga – He didn’t.

While these decisions ended up with successful fairly-tale outcomes, the current decision on elongating his T20 career hasn’t exactly been of that kind.

But with men like Sourav that is always the case. He is your “You win some, you lose some; What the heck? Let us try” guy. If only he had a better team to handle; If only he hadn’t got bowled off Malinga’s last ball while chasing the 120 – we would have been talking the Sourav story in a very different sense. A story that you usually associate with Sourav – one of the inspiring usurping kind!

Teams waiting to qualify for the play-offs, look out for him. He might spoil your parties in the coming days of this IPL!