Return of the Hungry Warrior

If Nagpur in 2004 marked the beginning of the end of his reign at the helm of Indian cricket, then Nagpur in 2007 will be remembered for being the highlight of Sourav Ganguly’s authoritative comeback to the international arena. Then, he was a beleaguered captain accused of feigning injury before a series-deciding test match; a general who appeared to have lost his winning ways and, more significantly, the trust of his lieutenants. Now, many months of cricketing exile later, the warrior has chosen the same battlefield to announce that he is back – with vintage cover drives still in his arsenal, but a new-found determination to succeed undoubtedly his most potent weapon.

This determination hasn’t manifested itself just in the aggressive intent with which he took on the Caribbean bowlers in Nagpur, or even in the manner in which he dug in against a fierce South African pace attack in the recent test series. It has shone through in every little thing he has done, both on and off the field – from his willingness to bat wherever the team has needed him to, to his refusal to be drawn in to Chappell/Dalmiya-centric exchanges with the media; from his eagerness to get back to the nets even on official “rest days” for the team, to the constant reaffirmation that he is not in the race to be captain. When he has talked – about scoring runs and using his experience to win games for India – he has ensured that he has walked the talk.

It was also refreshing to see that the inevitability of his selection into the one-day squad after the solid South African tour didn’t prevent him from turning out for Bengal in their Ranji encounter against Rajasthan. (Incidentally, he compiled an impeccable run-a-ball century in that game to take Bengal to a thumping win.) He is clearly hungry to play and hungry to score runs. And it is this hunger that ensures that a tentative first-ball nudge now sails between slip and gully, rather than into the waiting hands of a fielder, like it almost always did a couple of years back. It is this keenness to contribute that makes him punch the air in disappointment when he misses out on a juicy half-volley outside the off-stump, even when the scoring rate is decent. It is this desperation to survive that takes the pain away from being hit by a 145-kph Ntini scorcher, as long as it leaves his stumps intact.

What all this means now is that Ganguly is again a prominent feature of India’s plans in both forms of the game. Along with Dravid, Sachin and Dhoni, he is the only batsman who has already assured himself of a seat on the flight to the West Indies in March – a huge achievement in itself, given that he was out in the cold till only a month back.

But if the recent attitude he has brought to his game is anything to go by, Ganguly will not even be thinking of resting on his laurels. The last time India competed for world cricket’s most coveted prize, he ended the tournament with a pat on the back and a tag that said “second-best”. This time, in what will undoubtedly be his last shot at World Cup glory, he’s got an appetite for much more. Some advice for opposition captains: fasten your seat belts; and ya, also try plugging those off-side gaps.