Another one bites the dust. The Ganguly Saga

Its too bad to see Ganguly leave Team India http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/372830.html. The very team he led pragmatically, fiercely and with a lot of guts. Looks like another soft dismissal for the Dada from Kolkata. But one surely cannot forget the yeoman service he has done to Indian cricket. His towering sixes especially off the spinners was a delight to watch. Another sight that brought the goosebumps was his rollicking opening stands with Tendulkar, which kept that adrenaline flowing when one was watching TV.

I guess his only primal wrongdoing, other than his circumspect footwork to the left arm seamers was his love-hate relationship with the management which finally undid him. The sad aspect of Indian cricket has been the heavy dosage of politics which was the only constant change, be it the Bombay dominated team of the 80's or the Chappel histrionics with Ganguly. It is however pleasing to see the Tiger of Kolkota leave with a roar rather than a whimper, a sure way to keep those memories alive instead of quitting kicking and screaming. I do wish him a great future and hope he gets to mentor those talented young guns out there raring to go out and play for India.

His story seems a harsh reminder of the fading glory of the famous five, and sure must ring alarm bells for the rest of the seniors. I hope India takes the "Shape up or ship out" stance, which would work wonders and keep that well-oiled machine running smoothly.