Dada has landed

[shailesh]

cricinfo At 10 past eleven on a hot and dry day at Sedgars Park in Potchefstroom, a Mercedes minivan pulls up a few feet away from the outdoor nets. As soon as its doors open, the TV crews make a beeline there from their vantage points. Sourav Ganguly gets out quietly, picks up his kitbag from the boot, and wheels in into the practice area. Initially no one sees him, all of them occupied midway through a session. Then, as he sets his kitbag down and set about opening it, Munaf Patel turns around. He stares wide-eyed for a minute and then extends his hand. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had been chatting to Munaf just moments earlier, follows suit. 'You drove straight from the airport?" asks Dhoni. Ganguly just nods, and half smiles. Ian Frazer, who had just been lobbing balls to Rahul Dravid in a net kept apart from the others, is next to see him. He too goes up and shakes his hand, sharing a few words. Greg Chappell is having a quiet word in Gautam Gambhir's ear when he spots Ganguly. Ganguly crosses the few metres that separate them and they shake hands. "Welcome back, mate," says Chappell. "Glad you made it." Dravid has just finished a small session with Frazer and Greg King throwing them down when he wanders across to meet the man he replaced as India's captain. They chat for a couple of minutes, both men gazing in the direction of the batsmen and bowlers engaged in the nets. Soon after, Ganguly breaks away to see to his equipment. The SG thigh pad comes out, and he puts his bat, gloves, pads and helmet on the grass in readiness for what will be his first experience of South African pitches in nearly four years. As he pads up, Irfan Pathan spots him and waves. Ganguly waves back. After nearly a year away from the limelight, he's back. Only time will tell if he still belongs.

[maatugaara]

Re: Dada has landed umm..nice melodrama.. "Welcome back, mate," says Chappell. "Glad you made it."

[jf1gp_1]

Re: Dada has landed Dont know about others but for a change felt nice after reading a cricket report. Some how after reading it feeling a little positive. I just hope all of them sit down together resolve all issues like mature men, noone should apologize for anything everyone did what they had to, forget past and show saffies how cricket is played.

[talksport]

Re: Dada has landed I do not like too much focus on one player

[Rahul]

Re: Dada has landed http://blogs.cricinfo.com/tourdiaries/archives/2006/12/slotting_in_eff.php

[Inside_edge]

Re: Dada has landed Thats Bhagwan Dada for you. Pick a number and stand in line for darshan :hic:

[Mandrake]

Re: Dada has landed amazing isnt it...how the media loves to play to the gallery!.....so much melodrama!!.....now only if he can make some runs all of us would be happy...Good luck to dada and Team India for the tests!

[gator]

Re: Dada has landed very nice read from tht blog....

but a superb fast yorker that VRV bowled was expertly dug out.

like i said earlier in another thread, this is a different VRV and he is here to stay.... mark my words...

[Guest dada_rocks]

Re: Dada has landed I saw his video conference man the way scribe surround and pester him with questions cud see the stress on his face, let the guy be for god's sake

[King]

Re: Dada has landed Simply unbelievable all the glare of the media. They sound more like paparazzi and less like cricket writers. What is that written in this article that sounds great? You didn't expect the players, coach would exchange punch ups at the sight of Ganguly :hic: Yup he's in South Africa and quite naturally will attend the training. The boys will of course wave to him including Chappell and Dravid. This kind of exposure and hype is not good for Ganguly. The media is already posing him as a messiah and if he fails in the first game expect the same ones to run him down without giving him enough opportunities.

[beetle]

Re: Dada has landed One news channel said...chappell aur ganguly ne haath milaya...ab sab kuch theek ho gaya hai.....and showed them shaking hands . :lmao: :lmao:

[shailesh]

Re: Dada has landed expect a special report by some crappy news correspondent on how ganguly was snoring after he went to bed that night. :wall: