While Pune Warriors India went about upsetting the Chennai Super Kings, the world had their eyes set on two the captains who altered the course of Indian cricket. As Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh led their sides against each other, a debate ensued: Who has had a greater impact on Indian cricket?
Published: Apr 15, 2012, 02:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 23, 2014, 12:23 PM (IST)
Sourav Ganguly (left) and MS Dhoni © AFP
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
While Pune Warriors India went about upsetting the Chennai Super Kings, the world had their eyes set on two the captains who altered the course of Indian cricket. As Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh led their sides against each other, a debate ensued: Who has had a greater impact on Indian cricket?
Sourav Ganguly took over the reins of captaincy during a very tumultuous period in Indian cricket. Early into his captaincy, he had to lift a team that had to bear the brunt of the match-fixing controversy and lost credibility. It was a tough task considering the alleged involvement of former captains such as Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja. In the company of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble, Ganguly had to pick the pieces and rebuild the side reeling from the fallout.
It wasn’t just the tarnished reputation that Ganguly had to restore; he also had to battle the odds stacked against the Indian team. In the 1990s, India were tigers at home and lambs away – a trend that plagued them mentally more than anything else. It was Ganguly’s responsibility to change this perception and inspire the team perform outside their comfort zone.
With passage of time, Ganguly’s character rubbed off on the team. The flamboyant captain who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind or take his shirt off at the Mecca of cricket transformed the team into a confident and aggressive unit. Even in the face of adversity, this team didn’t surrender – the Kolkata Test of 2001 being the most memorable example. As a result, the mental block of playing away from home was torn down as India were up for anything thrown at them even in the most alien conditions.
The emergence of players such as Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Harbhajan Singh, to name a few, had a to do with the way Ganguly backed them. These players represented the youth of India and took the burden off their illustrious seniors. Dravid and VVS Laxman blossomed under Ganguly and scripted epics that would be etched in memory for time immemorial. A team that was heavily dependent on Tendulkar in the 1990s evolved into a cohesive side with players ready to rise to the occasion.
The mixture of youth and experience revolutionised India’s fortunes in the One-Day International (ODI) arena. The spectacular run-chase in the NatWest series final of 2002 was probably their greatest performance that defined their character. However, there was one fly in the ointment. The NatWest Series triumph was a rare occasion when India tasted victory in a tournament final during that phase. They would dominate such competitive tournaments and invariably falter at the most critical juncture. The most pertinent example is the 2003 World Cup when they were brilliant in the lead up and couldn’t get their act together when it mattered most.
This is where Dhoni comes into the picture. The baton of leadership didn’t directly pass from Ganguly to Dhoni as Dravid and Kumble (only Tests) held the reins in the interval between the two. Under Dhoni’s leadership, India went on to add a finishing touch to what Ganguly started. The trend of losing in the finals was broken as the Indian team went on to clinch a number of tournaments. The No 1 ranking in Test cricket was achieved under the leadership of Dhoni, who strived to maintain consistency in the classical format.
Dhoni’s biggest contribution to Indian cricket is the fearlessness he instilled into the team. During the biggest of games, the team has always maintained its high standards and didn’t crumble under pressure. In the finals of the ICC World T20 2007 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, India handled the humongous pressure and tackled the testing phases with clinical skill. The rest, as they say, is history.
Players like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina (ODIs), to name a few, have grown under Dhoni. These men have enjoyed the confidence of the captain – something that has allowed them to express themselves at the highest level. Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman defied the age barrier and brought back memories of the Ganguly era. It is only during the last year that India have struggled as the defeats in England and Australia have hit them hard.
Ganguly and Dhoni have contributed in their own right and to compare them is absolutely unfair. The challenges the two had to face were not the same and it needed different approaches and skills set to tackle them. Indian cricket is blessed that they had the right men leading them through those phases. Ganguly has left a rich legacy that saw India challenge their limitations. Dhoni, on the other hand, has some distance to go; his legacy is still work under progress.
Dhoni’s real test as a leader begins now as India’s horrendous run away from home has brought back unwanted memories of the old. It took years for Ganguly to transform India into a winning unit overseas. Under Dhoni, that team did well away from home, but off late that record has taken a huge beating. Having been tremendously successful for a major period of his captaincy, Dhoni faces a very different task. His leadership through these troubled waters is what will define his time at the helm.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a club-level cricketer with an analytic mind and a sharp eye. It was this sharpness which spotted a wrong replay in IPL4 resulting in Sachin Tendulkar’s dismissal. Some of his analytical pieces have come in for high praise from cerebral former cricketers. Nishad can also be followed on Twitter)
