Sourav Ganguly (சவ்ரவ் கங்குலி)

Kings XI vs Knight Riders on 25th May 2008

Though Umar Gul was the natural choice for his all round performance, it was Ganguly who captured my mind.

Saurav Ganguly through his earlier innings of 91 in 57 balls against Deccan chargers silenced his critics who raised doubts about his ageing.

And his yesterday’s innings of 86 of 53 balls studded with 6 fours & 6 sixes seems to be the best innings so far in any T20 game as far as a captain's knock is concerned. Inspite of regular fall of wickets and mounting pressure of the required run rate, the captain's concentration remained sustained and his determination to win underlined his high-running-spirits. The competitive spirit in Ganguly saw him to stand firmly at one end till the last over of the match to guide his team's victory.

When I sat to see the match, the knight riders were riding too low with 6 wickets already fallen and with a daunting task as only 4 overs were left.

Sure, it was the best captain’s knock that we have ever seen in this IPL tournament.
In fact, some time back I was also wondering like - what captaincy has got to do in a Twenty20 game; was it not the individual performances that change the course of matches?

I am not sure how many captains would have read Mike Brearley’s book 'Art of Captaincy' and what amount of knowledge it could offer today for a captain in a Twenty20 side. Nevertheless, everyone is aware that temperament and the ability to manage men are essential qualities for any captain, and in any game for that matter. Apart from possessing the man-management skill, the captain has also to be a thinker, a tactician, a good communicator, etc. But in IPL matches, with the likes of Shah Rukh Khans and other business franchises keeping pressure on the captain and the players, I don’t think any of these Twenty20 captains have major say in team composition and decision making.

However, what I note from the game the way it is played nowadays is - a player, in order to qualify for the captaincy should have expertise in at least one area of the game. The player has really to be outstanding in performance either with bat, ball or fielding or wicket keeping - based on this strength alone he can lead the team from the front. And here is where, Saurav scores!

Saurav, might have failed on some areas, or may be, he is not given the freedom that a captain deserves, however, Saurav's batting prowess and his match winning ability make him an attacking captain. This killer instinct is what our Indian captain needs; and Saurav alone seem to possess this quality.

Click for more info: Sourav Ganguly - Wikipedia