Let Ganguly be

As he prepares to lead the Indian team on the tour of England, Sourav Chandidas Ganguly may not, like Ajit Wadekar in the early 70s or Sunil Gavaskar in the early 80s, be the undisputed monarch of Indian cricket. But he is close to it and a good showing in England could well elevate the Prince of Kolkata and make him the King of Indian cricket.

Ganguly is the most assertive leader since Gavaskar. He is emotional and gets really charged up whenever needed - and sometimes when it is not required! He is aggressive on and off the field and perhaps this is a quality that needs to be tempered. He is not perfect - nobody is for that matter - but his leadership is very much in keeping with the times.

It is a little over two years since Ganguly was given the job in rather dramatic circumstances. But in this short time, he has experienced the ups and downs, the triumphs and disasters, the accolades and the abuses. He has taken all this in his stride even as he has seen his batting average fall and his personal life come under the microscope.

There can be little doubt that the elevation of Ganguly to the captaincy has been a key element of Indian cricket in the new millennium. Let's get one thing straight. This man is different. He does not fit the usual prototype of the Indian cricket captain. He is neither a softie, nor a pliable leader.

Ganguly is the most assertive leader since Gavaskar. He is emotional and gets really charged up whenever needed - and sometimes when it is not required! He is aggressive on and off the field and perhaps this is a quality that needs to be tempered. He is not perfect - nobody is for that matter - but his leadership is very much in keeping with the times.

I am convinced that without him at the helm, the epic series triumph over Australia last year would not have come about, despite all the heroics of Laxman, Dravid and Harbhajan. Sure, he can still improve, tactically and temperamentally. For the time being though, it is important that the administrators, selectors, media and the public give him enough opportunities to become what I strongly believe he will become - one of the outstanding captains in Indian cricket.

He is now firmly in the saddle, but viewed from any angle, Ganguly's elevation to the Indian captaincy must be one of the astonishingly unexpected success stories in Indian cricket. Indeed, my mind goes back at this time to Dhaka in November, 2000.

Watching Ganguly talking to reporters on the eve of the inaugural Test against Bangladesh, noted cricket writer Rajan Bala nudged me and asked, "Well, did you ever think that one day you would see Ganguly captain India in a Test match?" He gave a wry smile as he asked this, for he knew what my answer would be. Almost till the point when he was appointed captain, there was never any certainty that he would get to occupy the most prestigious post in Indian sport.

In the midand late-90s, as Ganguly was establishing his place in the side, the leadership changed hands between Azharuddin and Tendulkar, while Ajay Jadeja took over the deputy's post from Anil Kumble. Ganguly, meanwhile, was never considered for the top post.

Even Dravid was mentioned as a suitable candidate, his batting style and his studious approach to the game giving the impression that he was the cerebral type. Ganguly, on the other hand, was considered flashy, a quality not always associated with leadership, and even then glimpses of over emotion were in evidence.

But once he got the job, Ganguly took little time in showing that he was not one to respect reputations and names. Under his leadership, the players have shed their nice guy image, especially against teams like Australia and South Africa who ask for no quarter and give none. The Indians now give as good as they get.

There is a mature aggression about their batting and bowling, symbolised by the deeds of youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Tinu Yohannan. And epitomising this attitude has been the skipper. Ganguly is certainly no softie like Tendulkar or pliable as Azhar. He is the veritable Bengal tiger who is unafraid of making his roar heard loud and clear.

He has repeatedly made his intentions clear. "Don't try and put one over me. Don't mess with me. You'll be sorry," is the gist of the message. This is something new for an Indian leader. For long, the image of the Indian captain had been that of the obliging, only too willing to please type. Ganguly has succeeded in changing this prototype.

Ever since he took over the captaincy, a few things have become obvious about Ganguly's approach to the job. For one thing, he has been a vast improvement over his two immediate predecessors in communication skills.

While Azharuddin was a disaster in this field, Tendulkar, though more straightforward, made it clear that he was not altogether comfortable in the area of media relations. Ganguly has been a refreshing change. He is easily accessible, does not answer in monosyllables and is transparent in his dealings with the media.

There is also no denying that Ganguly has been a better captain in other ways too than his two immediate predecessors. He has scored a point or two in matters of strategy and tactics. He has had the team behind him and is inclined to back his players to the hilt.

At the same time, he has also displayed the willingness to crack the whip if needed. Only recently he showed his displeasure against Srinath's bowling all too clearly on the field of play. But at the end of the same Port of Spain Test, he was the first to rush to the fast bowler, senior to him in age and experience and give him a warm hug. All this has become Ganguly's trademark.

Yes, there have been occasions when Ganguly has overstepped the limits of aggression on the field. There is no excuse for Ganguly to get theatrical about appeals, umpires' decisions or his own players' performance. Aggression that cannot be tempered is uncalled for, especially by a captain in these troubled times when there is so much petulant behaviour. To Ganguly's credit, however, it must be said that he is mellowing and the number of incidents involving his fiery temper have come down ­ indeed a happy augury for the future.

In my book, Ganguly deserves a lot of credit for his no-nonsense captaincy. For this, if he has made himself unpopular with a section of cricket followers, players and the media, so be it. His approach came through best in the great triumph over Australia last year.

For once, the Australians, who through the years had become past masters in the art of aggression, bustling tactics and sledging, found that they were getting it as good as they gave. They were at the receiving end in this tactical game and didn't like it. Ganguly relentlessly turned on the screws, took on Steve Waugh off the field in a war of words and the Australians, under pressure buckled, despite all the big names at their command. `Force will be met with force,' could well have been the Indian captain's motto.

But after the end of the tour, even Waugh while admitting that he was no friend of his testy Indian counterpart, gave him grudging praise. "I can't say I got on that well with him, I'd be lying if I said that," the Australian captain said before admitting that Ganguly was probably the best man to lead India.

"They've won a series against Australia which is a great performance," he said. "I give him credit, he's very competitive and knows what he wants."

Nobody's perfect, as we all know - or at least should know. And yet a captain who led the country to what was without argument its greatest ever Test series victory at home was being vilified just a few months later! For the life of me, I just cannot fathom this kind of fickleness.

The man has guts, plays the game aggressively, is almost a born leader and there was talk of replacing him a little over a year after he stepped into the hot seat. Serious enough for a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to berate him in front of junior players, tell him that it is time he went and ask Dravid to be prepared to lead the team. Raj Singh Dungarpur on this occasion was clearly being overdramatic. As far as I am concerned, there should never have been any debate on the issue.

But being over emotional is part of the Indian cricketing psyche. One triumph and the captain is lifted to the levels of a demi god. One defeat and he is brought down to earth with a sickening thud. Putting things in proper perspective has hardly been a feature of anything associated with Indian cricket.

As he leaves for England, Ganguly's overall record is pretty impressive. Under his captaincy, India has played 23 Tests, won ten, lost seven and drawn six. His tally of wins is next only to Md Azharuddin who had 14 victories in the 47 Tests in which he led India. More significantly, four of Ganguly's wins have been notched up abroad, more than any other Indian leader.

His record as captain in ODIs is better than average. Moreover, he is a leader who stands by his players, is not afraid of taking on the establishment when it comes to cricketing matters, and one whose approach to the job is very much in keeping with the times.

Sure, there are flaws. Nobody's perfect, remember? Tactically, Ganguly is still learning. He can be moody and lets things drift when things are not going well. He has to learn to curb his temper and keep in mind the thin line between aggression and petulance. He should not let the pressures of captaincy affect his classy batsmanship.

Potentially, Ganguly, 30 next month, has it in him to become one of the most successful Indian captains of all time. It took him four years in the wilderness to unleash his skill as a batsman. He will not need that much time to unfurl his leadership skills. Now if only officialdom, the media and the cricket fans let him be.