Very apt article from Cricinfo..Very sad but absolutely true

[straighttalk]

It is getting sadder by the day. To witness Sourav Ganguly, once a proud man, resemble a slow and ageing boxer, entering the ring tired and sluggish is not an entertaining sight. That image of an intense Ganguly, staring his opponent in the face and steadily infuriating his enemy with his attitude, strategy and daring, is now a thing of the past. Instead what remains is an athlete, forcibly fighting against time and playing in a format that is uncompromising. After five games in this IPL, Ganguly has yet to complete 100 runs - he is two short of that mark and has a paltry average of 19.60. Lesser-known batsmen like Manish Pandey, Saurabh Tiwary, Ambati Rayudu, to list a few, have shown more character and had more impact on the fate of their teams than Ganguly has. And, before you say that all these three are youngsters, more suitable for the format, what of the dominance of Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Adam Gilchrist and Anil Kumble? All these men are on the other side of 30, all Ganguly's peers, but it is only the Kolkata captain, who finds himself in an isolated corner, sitting numb from the punches thrown at him. Today was the first instance of Ganguly walking in as an opener in this IPL. In the first four matches he batted at No.3, and in the previous match, against Rajasthan, he had come in as No. 4. But Ganguly batting in the middle-order was always going to be a gamble considering he lacked the firepower he once possessed to take the bowling attack on. Also in the absence of Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, Brad Hodge opened the innings in the company of Manoj Tiwary, but apart form the solid partnership in the home victory against Bangalore, that pairing had not proved to be successful. After the defeat in Ahmedabad, Dav Whatmore said the loss would prompt a change in the batting order. For Ganguly, opening remains the most appropriate position in his present form where he could at least use the pace of the ball and the freshness in the pitch to his advantage along with some initiative. But that was not to be the case at Brabourne Stadium, which was once again filled to the brim with Mumbai supporters. On the fifth ball of the fourth over, Zaheer Khan pitched a short delivery outside off stump. In his pomp Ganguly would've hit that ball over, or cut it past point for a definite four. In this instance it ended up being a hit and miss. Zaheer followed with the same delivery, maintaining the same line. Ganguly stepped out, failed to connect once again, ending up looking ridiculous. Immediately he asked for a change of gloves. Clearly, the erstwhile 'God of the off side' was nervous. The pattern did not change through the innings - even as Ganguly lengthened his stay, the run rate stayed stagnant. The reasons behind Ganguly's failure to dominate can be many but the most important one is his slowness. His reflexes have dimmed. That impeccable placement has disappeared followed closely by the timing. Those wrists don't co-ordinate anymore with the bat to lend any direction to the drives, those legs stay planted to the spot. Even his charges against spinners invariably end in the hands of the fielder, where once they ended behind the ropes. Ganguly's actions have become predictable, making it easy for the bowlers to gain the uppherhand. It is easy to put the detriment of age behind Ganguly's reverses but take the example of Tendulkar today. He was chalk to Ganguly's cheese: Tendulkar bristled, stayed athletic at all times, and urged his fielders and batsmen to remain pro-active, and dissected the bowlers clinically. All this is not saying that Ganguly doesn't try doing the same. He does, only that, perhaps, time has overtaken him. Things happen in the Twenty20 format at run-time - all those net sessions add up to zero most times and what remains the key is recognising the moment to step up the ante. Today Ganguly had the opportunity many times to force the change with the bat. But he failed miserably. It was the same case against Rajasthan. In fact it is not the first time he has been exposed in this format. In the inaugural season of the IPL, when Gayle was absent, McCullum left after four games and Brad Hodge was yet to be bought, Ganguly was the top run-getter with 349 runs at 29.08 but those runs could not save Kolkata from drowning. In South Africa, the following year, Ganguly struggled on the bouncier pitches and ended the tournament with 189 runs at 17.18. This is not the end of the road for Ganguly because he remains Kolkata's brand image. Also he still retains the leadership qualities that are necessary to inspire the team and he is the most accomplished and capable man to lead the side. Only that he needs now to inspire himself first.

[straighttalk]

Though I have learnt my lesson in writing Sourav out, I feel this truly is the end of the road for him. He is looking pathetic. Missing out on spinners. No grace, no timing, none whatsoever. Even my Bengali friends are tired of him. He is definitely not the player he once was.

[vvvslaxman]

He hardly practiced when he was playing for India. What are the odds he would have done that here. As an important cult figure in indian cricket best he could do is groom youngsters and take the backseat. He can come low down the order. He should promote all the future players. Look at Sachin. He sends in Rayudu, Tiwary ahead of Bravo, Pollard. Same way Kumble sends in Pandey, Kohli, Uthappa ahead of Dravid.

[cowboysfan]

imo the bengalis and srk did themselves and dada a disservice by hoping for too much dada.unlike sachin,dada's game will never translate into t20s success and he is also a poor runner and a fielder to boot.they could have made him the coach ,dada would have made them into a contender by now.

[Sachinism]

I haven't watched most of the games, but I remember a lot of praise for Ganguly during the 1st few games and now everyone is abusing him

[yoda]

He needs to quit. Scoring at less than a run a ball is a crime in T-20s.

[punjabiplaya]

took a stunning catch today nearly in the same league as the one dravid took the other day!

[lonestarranger]

Poor Dada should probably consider retiring. More than that, I sympathize with SRK. I think some heads are gonna roll.

[gsivak]

I appreciate the fact that Dada is a fighter but I think it may be time for him to exit gracefully. Better to leave in a high than to be pushed out. SRK may not be willing to give him another go and I don't want Dada to ever be in a position where he is asked to leave.

[Guest DeveGowda]

I haven't watched most of the games' date=' but I remember a lot of praise for Ganguly during the 1st few games and now everyone is abusing him[/quote'] 1st game DC choked...or KKR should have lost that match easily.. Only 2nd match KKR beat RCB easily...but still dada's batting is not good there also.. So for the 2 wins he got all credit as always...:winky: Now 3 straight losses Magnified his batting performamnce..yesterdays was worse so does the last match against RR... he may click in one or 2 matches but he is dragging KKR down...

[Guest Hiten.]

Dada is not their only problem but he is one of their problem. To begin with KKR squad has jack all when it comes to local talent and their foreign players are totally inconsistent. Despite buying bond they did nothing to revamp their fringe bowling attack. I don't know if kkr's think tank followed ishants progress in loi or t20 format but if they did and still persisted with him then they deserve to lose. Besides bond and kartik there is no attacking option for them when it comes to bowling. Tbh, scg is not that bad as he is made out to be. He is leading a very **** outfit (though he deserves some stick for squad selection) and can only motivate through his leadership abilities. We saw in the field today that ganguly is again out there with his back on the wall but will try his bestto come out as a winner. I don't agree in moving ganguly lower down order because there is no good candidate to open the innings. He really has to all out in the first 6 overs and that is the max he should plan on to staying on the crease. I believe he is good enough to stitch an opening partnership of 60ish in 8 overs mark which is acceptable. **** you all, go dada :isalute:

[Roshanrocks]

Gangulay - the name that used to bring respect from Indian fans is now bringing ridicule n criticism... how times change... I jus wish Gangulky wud find some form back and bow out with head held high.

[Laaloo]

Also the problem with KKR is their MO. If gayle doesn't survive for more than 10 overs, then there's really no one in the latter part of the team to blast a let's say 32 from 15 balls or something. They lack a good finisher.

[Roshanrocks]

Dada is not their only problem but he is one of their problem. To begin with KKR squad has jack all when it comes to local talent and their foreign players are totally inconsistent. Despite buying bond they did nothing to revamp their fringe bowling attack. I don't know if kkr's think tank followed ishants progress in loi or t20 format but if they did and still persisted with him then they deserve to lose. Besides bond and kartik there is no attacking option for them when it comes to bowling. Tbh, scg is not that bad as he is made out to be. He is leading a very **** outfit (though he deserves some stick for squad selection) and can only motivate through his leadership abilities. We saw in the field today that ganguly is again out there with his back on the wall but will try his bestto come out as a winner. I don't agree in moving ganguly lower down order because there is no good candidate to open the innings. He really has to all out in the first 6 overs and that is the max he should plan on to staying on the crease. I believe he is good enough to stitch an opening partnership of 60ish in 8 overs mark which is acceptable. **** you all, go dada

dada n srk will be :damnmate: ishant for everyone talking about taking dad out... pls remember there is no repalcement yet :hmmm: all KKR fans will be waiting for the in-form Mccullum to come i for one will always :isalute: Dada for his splendid serivice he gave to the indian team as an able n fearless captain... i hope he bounces back ...

[Guest DeveGowda]

Dada is not their only problem but he is one of their problem. To begin with KKR squad has jack all when it comes to local talent and their foreign players are totally inconsistent. Despite buying bond they did nothing to revamp their fringe bowling attack. I don't know if kkr's think tank followed ishants progress in loi or t20 format but if they did and still persisted with him then they deserve to lose. Besides bond and kartik there is no attacking option for them when it comes to bowling. Tbh, scg is not that bad as he is made out to be. He is leading a very **** outfit (though he deserves some stick for squad selection) and can only motivate through his leadership abilities. We saw in the field today that ganguly is again out there with his back on the wall but will try his bestto come out as a winner. I don't agree in moving ganguly lower down order because there is no good candidate to open the innings. He really has to all out in the first 6 overs and that is the max he should plan on to staying on the crease. I believe he is good enough to stitch an opening partnership of 60ish in 8 overs mark which is acceptable. **** you all, go dada :isalute:

Problem is he is NOT leading from front if u see other team atleast in one or 2 matches thier captain performed..but here he is failed in everyy match...When u r winning everything is fine..but when u start to lose how u r team mates will respect u when u r the big problem ?

[Roshanrocks]

the team mates will always respect dada... becoz they themselves are not performing :D

[SSJ4Kakashi]

KKR has loads of local talent.They just need to fire.Dada is not the only reason KKR has lost 3 games in a row.In fact I think he was the reason KKR won their first two games.His batting is pathetic right now but his captaincy,which is his strong point,is still awesome.KKR need to replace Ishant with Varun Aaron if he has recovered.Ishant right now is just dreadful to watch.KKR also need a good finisher and Owais Shah fills that role nicely.Gayle can also play it if he bats throughout the entire innings.I think yesterday we were about 10-15 runs short.Even with Ishant's horrible bowling and Bond's not so good bowling we still put up a fight.We are still not out of the hunt so we need to put up much better performances in our upcoming matches.Even :dd:,the team which reached the Semis both years are in the same situation as we are.

[DomainK]

Feeling sad for dada. C'mon dada, hit a few 50s.:cheer:

[thevortex]

I disagree that it is just age which is making him play the way he is. And it is nonsense to talk about his reflexes. From evidence on the field, Dada's reflexes are at their finest. In fact it is fair to say that he has NEVER EVER fielded as well as he is doing in the IPL at the moment. That raises another set of questions, but that is not pertinent here in this thread. Recently I saw him play wonderfully flowing drives in domestic cricket - forget against whom. But it is not all because he has lost his ability. At least I dont think so. I will be very surprised if he does not come back into his own before the end of this tournament. Of course this will raise the question as to whether the team will be able to afford that. Look at Delhi which benched Dilshan after 3 poor games or Mumbai which benched Jayasuriya. The more I think about it, it appears that club cricket will go the soccer way where the captain does not stand for too much and the coach is the person controlling everything. I am not sure I would like such a scenario.

[Guest DeveGowda]

I disagree that it is just age which is making him play the way he is. And it is nonsense to talk about his reflexes. From evidence on the field' date=' Dada's reflexes are at their finest. In fact it is fair to say that [b']he has NEVER EVER fielded as well as he is doing in the IPL at the moment. That raises another set of questions, but that is not pertinent here in this thread. Recently I saw him play wonderfully flowing drives in domestic cricket - forget against whom. But it is not all because he has lost his ability. At least I dont think so. I will be very surprised if he does not come back into his own before the end of this tournament. Of course this will raise the question as to whether the team will be able to afford that. Look at Delhi which benched Dilshan after 3 poor games or Mumbai which benched Jayasuriya. The more I think about it, it appears that club cricket will go the soccer way where the captain does not stand for too much and the coach is the person controlling everything. I am not sure I would like such a scenario.

u r right about his fileding..in all the matches he field well and also Tried to filed well :winky: