Vijay Lokapally (http://www.hindu.com)
THE PRINCE'S ARMY: Kolkatans come out in protest against Sourav Ganguly being dropped from the Indian team. — Photo: Sushanta Patronobish
NEW DELHI: Sourav Ganguly has found overwhelming support from all corners of the country. The selectors' decision to exclude him has not been received well and the consensus is that the former skipper deserved a better deal.
Kapil Dev: It is sad. Sourav did not deserve this. Not after his wonderful contribution to Indian cricket. Sourav is not the first cricketer to have suffered but then let us ensure that such dirty episodes are not repeated. But that is the BCCI for you. These officials will not offer any explanation for such a poor step. Ill-treating top cricketers has been the trend in our cricket and it is indeed tragic when you look at Sourav's immense effort in raising a good side and standing by his players.
Mohinder Amarnath: There can be no justification for the manner in which the selectors have handled things. Things could have been better. What was the hurry to take such a decision. They have been very, very unfair to Sourav. This is no way to treat a national icon. In any case, how do you justify his exclusion when he has scored runs and contributed in the team's victory. It is clear that the selectors have different yardsticks for different people. That is why I have always said that there should be fewer selectors and they should be cricketers of stature. My heart goes out to Sourav. He simply did not deserve this shoddy treatment.
Dilip Vengsarkar: It shows the immaturity of the selection committee. They have shown utter disregard for someone who has contributed immensely to Indian cricket and he certainly did not deserve this kind of treatment. What have the selectors tried to prove? Sourav is a national hero and you don't insult your heroes. There have been precedents when selectors have handled things poorly but nothing to match this. There is simply no cricketing merit in his exclusion.
Sandeep Patil: Same ground and same hotel. I had suffered a similar fate in 1984 and never played a Test again in my life. So I can understand how Sourav feels. It is a shocking decision that defies logic. Normally a player is dropped after failure but here Sourav had scored runs in both innings. He was involved in two partnerships that helped the team win the match. The issue could have been dealt with in better fashion. The selectors are not justified at all in dropping him after having brought him in just a few days ago. It was a bold decision no doubt. The argument could be that Indian cricket has to move forward because some youngsters are waiting for opportunities. But the selectors have made a mess of it really. They may not be answerable for their decisions but then there is no consistency here.
Madan Lal: If I were a selector, I would have spoken to him. He has been the captain, done well for the country, looking at his contribution we could have told him what we had in mind. Maybe after consulting him we would have taken a decision. He deserved this much of a farewell. The signs were there that they would drop him. Maybe they wanted to be fair to a youngster like Yuvraj Singh. But I would have preferred someone talking to him. He is a big player no doubt. They should have waited for one more Test.
Aunshuman Gaekwad: Nothing could have been more illogical. Ridiculous decision I must say. First you drop him, then bring him in, put him in the eleven, ask him to score runs. He scores runs and then you show him the door. Very, very unfair. In the last Test, Sourav was included instead of Zaheer Khan because the selectors thought he was a batting all-rounder. So when Sourav is dropped, logically Zaheer should come in. But they bring in an opener, who should have been there in the first place. It would have helped avoid experiments like Rahul (Dravid) and Irfan (Pathan) opening the innings. Can there be any comparison between Sourav and Yuvraj (Singh). They have only insulted a senior cricketer for all the good work he has done as captain.
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