Ganguly: the same guy who toured Australia ?
Ravi Aron
This Ganguly guy - I seem to recall the name. When india toured Australia
(under Azhar, pre world cup) there used to be a guy who was so mortally
terrified of pace bowling that he refused to take singles lest he had to
face Merv Hughes and McDermott. Was it Ganguly or do I have somebody else
in mind ? (Could have been Raju, but he's a bowler and it won't be
surprising if he was a bit of a chicken or it might have been Vengsarkar,
though I don't quite thinks so).
I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
Rohan Kanhai...
Ravi (Whatever happened to a gutsy batsman called Amre ?)
Saurabh Jang
Ravi Aron (ravi...@aol.com) wrote:
: I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
: Rohan Kanhai...
You are being a bit harsh on Ganguly. A guy who shares my first name
can't be all that bad ;) Seriously though, he is a decent and stylish
bat who has potential.
: Ravi (Whatever happened to a gutsy batsman called Amre ?)
Unfortunately, Indian selectors (and fans) don't value guts as much as
they do "technique" or "style". Thats why Amre is out in the cold.
Saurabh
--
Saurabh Jang e-mail: sj...@cs.mtu.edu
MSCS Student www : http://www.cs.mtu.edu/grads/Jang/Home.html
Michigan Tech work #: (906)487-2839
Sadiq Yusuf
In article <4pfak1$3...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>,
Ravi Aron <ravi...@aol.com> wrote:
>This Ganguly guy - I seem to recall the name. When india toured Australia
>(under Azhar, pre world cup) there used to be a guy who was so mortally
>terrified of pace bowling that he refused to take singles lest he had to
>face Merv Hughes and McDermott. Was it Ganguly or do I have somebody else
>in mind ? (Could have been Raju, but he's a bowler and it won't be
>surprising if he was a bit of a chicken or it might have been Vengsarkar,
>though I don't quite thinks so).
>
This *is* the same guy - Raju has often been accused of being a
mediocre bowler, but rarely of being "chicken" :-) And I personally had
never heard Vengsarkar being thought a "chicken" until I read rsc - 5
tons against the West Indies, and Marshall claiming he was one of only 2
or so batsmen he had *ever* bowled to who would come on the front foot
and drive the fastest of the WI bowlers had convinced me otherwise
(until I read rsc :-) And, BTW, Marshall *hated* Vengsarkar more than
anyone in the cricketing world - going back to his (Marshalls) debut
test in 78/79.
>I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
>Rohan Kanhai...
>
He is.
I do think, though, that everyone does Ganguly an injustice
here. Saurav was, IMHO, a victim of Bengal selections - they pushed him
too hard and too early, and hurt him badly, IMHO (as Ive been saying on
rsc for about 3 years now :-) .
Saurav was (and is) a talented batsman and a useful change
bowler. But the Bengal association pushed him as "The Tendulkar of the
East", when he was merely 17 years old (there was a time when you could
not *find* an article on Ganguly without a mention of the above phrase).
Thus, Saurav was sent on the tour to Australia when he was 18 years old
and clearly not ready for it. He was spoiled and arrogant (reports in
the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta insist that he did not want to carry
drinks as 12th man in Australia, as he considered it beneath his station
:-). And, in cricketing terms, he was not ready. He had played
relatively weak attacks all his life, and had always been successful.
Sent to play strong attacks on pitches faster than he had ever seen in
his life, he failed badly - not just in the solitary international he
was given (an ODI), but in a couple of 3 day games too,where he looked
awful (apparently - ask Phil Shead, who saw him in that 3 dayer :-)
And, as often happens, the experience set him back (IMHO). He
was so affected by it that he didnt even score in the domestics the next
season - his confidence had clearly taken a beating. Some of us
repeatedly expressed the hope on rsc that he would recover from that
debacle and do well again - and he did.
Now he is back in the team. I dont think he should be :-) - I
would still pick Kambli over him. But that doesnt make him a bad player
(or an untalented batsman) - he is still talented and decent. Being
pushed too early by the Bengal association (and consequently failing)
has, IMHO, cost him at least a couple of years - I believe that if he
had never gone to Australia, he might have made his way into the Indian
side a couple of years ago.
He might well be picked for the next test - a test debut at
Lords, no doubt the fulfillment of a dream :-) He could be the #6
batsman and the #3 seamer - India's batting was so badly exposed in the
first test that they might well decide to go with a stronger batting
line-up. I hope he will do very well - an attractive lefty batsman and
part-time seamer would be nice to have in the side :-)
Oh, BTW, for those who care - the Bengal association clearly
did not learn from their mistake (like we actually expected them to,
huh? :-) A brilliant 16 year old opening batsman prospect named Nikhil
Haldipur scored tons by the bucketful on an Under 17 tour of England.
He had never played a single first class game - but he was clearly a
good prospect, who had starred at the Under 16 level for Bengal (*not*
the Under 19 level - he had not played the Under 19s). They immediately
tried to pick him for the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy !! Due
to a miscommunication that would be hilarious if it werent so tragic
(the Bengal players thought the game was on the 30th of November instead
of the 30th of October :-), he didnt make it to Bombay and so didnt
play. But, he was still thrown in at the deep end - made to open for the
East Zone in every single Duleep and Deodhar game that season (and all
this, remember, without ever having played a single first class game !)
Not surprisingly, he failed. Didnt cross 30 in a single innings.
Now, think about this kid. He has starred at every level he has
played, obviously. A talented kid, but still only 16. He failed for the
first time in his life - and not just failed, but failed badly. His
confidence must have taken a massive beating - from which he *still*
hasnt recovered. He is about 18 years old now, and he has not even made
the India Under 19 side yet - there are at least 3/4 other batsmen of
his age who are now doing far better than him. For the sake of Indian
cricket, we can only hope he will recover soon and get to the level that
was once predicted for him - a good opener would be nice to have
(especially since we dont seem to actually have one, at the moment :-)
>Ravi (Whatever happened to a gutsy batsman called Amre ?)
Please :-) Dont reopen old wounds that are still raw.
Sadiq [ who thinks too much of the CAB is often a bad thing :-) ] Yusuf
--
Sadiq Yusuf
si...@iastate.edu
Saurabh Jang
Sadiq Yusuf (si...@iastate.edu) wrote:
: (until I read rsc :-) And, BTW, Marshall *hated* Vengsarkar more than
: anyone in the cricketing world - going back to his (Marshalls) debut
: test in 78/79.
Sadiq, could you elaborate on this? Boy, does Vengsarkar know how
to make the wrong enemies! Marshall could have done a Contractor
on him!
: Thus, Saurav was sent on the tour to Australia when he was 18 years old
: and clearly not ready for it. He was spoiled and arrogant (reports in
: the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta insist that he did not want to carry
: drinks as 12th man in Australia, as he considered it beneath his station
: :-). And, in cricketing terms, he was not ready. He had played
I think I like this guy more and more! It takes a lot of cheekiness
for a rookie to have this attitude.
Dipak Basu
Fascinating post.
Strengthening your point is the fact that in spite of Tendulkar's immense
promise at age 15, the selectors held off bringing him into the test arena
until he was about 18. The rest is history.
Dipak.
Saileshwar Krishnamurthy
>>>>> "Saurabh" == Saurabh Jang <sj...@mtu.edu> writes:
Saurabh> Sadiq Yusuf (si...@iastate.edu) wrote: : (until I read
Saurabh> rsc :-) And, BTW, Marshall *hated* Vengsarkar more than
Saurabh> : anyone in the cricketing world - going back to his
Saurabh> (Marshalls) debut : test in 78/79.
Saurabh> Sadiq, could you elaborate on this? Boy, does Vengsarkar
Saurabh> know how to make the wrong enemies! Marshall could have
Saurabh> done a Contractor on him!
Apparently Vengsarkar sledged Marshall in his debut in 78/79. I
believe when Marshall got out Vengsarkar laughed at him as he
walked towards the pavilion.
Cheers
Sailesh (http://www.cs.purdue.edu/people/krish)
(... And that's Sachin Tendulkar's first century at Lords !!!
- from commentary sometime during 20-24 June 1996 !!)
--
Cheers
Sailesh
IBM SWS Toronto, 1150 Eglinton Av Internet: sai...@vnet.ibm.com
Ph: (416) 448-2475, Tie: 778-2475 VNET: TOROLAB2(sailesh)
Badrinarayanan Seshadri
Dipak Basu (db...@cisco.com) wrote:
* Fascinating post.
* Strengthening your point is the fact that in spite of Tendulkar's immense
* promise at age 15, the selectors held off bringing him into the test arena
* until he was about 18. The rest is history.
* Dipak.
err...
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
Date of Birth: 24 April 1973
Test Debut: 15 November 1989 v Pakistan, Karachi
ODI Debut: 18 December 1989 v Pakistan, Gujranwala
He was playing in Test matches at the age of 16 years, 201 days.
--badri
--
--------------------------------------------------
Badri Seshadri
Graduate Student
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Cornell University
--------------------------------------------------
Sadiq Yusuf
In article <dbasu-11069...@dynaserv-d2-186.cisco.com>,
Dipak Basu <db...@cisco.com> wrote:
>Fascinating post.
>
Thanks :-)
>Strengthening your point is the fact that in spite of Tendulkar's immense
>promise at age 15, the selectors held off bringing him into the test arena
>until he was about 18. The rest is history.
>
Quibble. SRT actually came in to the team when he was 16 and a
half, approximately. There were some people who wanted him in for the WI
tour the previous year :-), but they were ignored (thank God).
However, Ive said this before and I'll say it again :-), SRT was
a *completely* different situation. Especially when you compare it to
the Haldipur situation, for example.
SRT was a phenomenon, and was only included in the Bombay 14
because the then Bombay skipper Vengsarkar had been persuaded to watch
him play in the nets. (V'kar was initially very reluctant, saying stuff
like "there are always these amazing kids. you want me to watch a 15
year old ?" :-) Vkar had watched him, however, and thrown all the
Bombay bowlers at him in the nets (Raju Kulkarni, RJS etc), and been
convinced.
So, SRT made his Bombay debut at 15. His debut game was, by
great good luck, at Wankhede - and by even greater good luck, he
would be batting on a Sunday. Thus, it was the perfect situation - all
the Bombay old cricketers (of which there are several, and many with
influential views, probably), came in to see this young prodigy. SRT
proceeded to score a brilliant chanceless ton, and probably did more
good to his short-term chances with that one innings than he could have
with a couple of double tons scored away from home. It ensured that he
would not be ignored, at the very least, because enough of the "old
guard" had seen and liked him.
SRT proceeded to have a very successful Ranji season, averaging
over 60. Due to this (and probably due to the fact that many of the
older cricketers had been impressed by him), he was picked for West Zone
in the Duleep Trophy - and he promptly proceeded to score a ton on debut
at the zonal level too.
This led to his being picked for the Rest of India side in the
Irani Trophy, prior to the national side being picked for Pakistan. And
SRT immediately scored a ton there as well, thus entering the record books
as the only Indian ever to score debut tons at all 3 levels of domestic
cricket. Thus, he was now firmly in contention for a spot in the Indian
side.
And then, many things came together. India was just coming off a
disastrous tour of WI, which had (as usual) eliminated several batting
contenders and put many others on a shaky footing. Mohinder Amarnath was
gone (because he called em a "pack of jokers"), Vengsarkar was gone
(because they were trying to prove Mohinder right :-) Azhar was looking
very shaky. India desperately needed middle order batsmen - the back-up
batsmen on that tour were WV Raman and Raman Lamba and Ajay Sharma
(which should in itself give you an indiction of just how bare the
cupboard was ? :-)
Thus, it was really a combination of events that saw SRT make
his debut when he did. And even that was really almost a textbook
example of just how a young cricketer should progress in India - moving
through every domestic level, one by one, and being promoted only when
he succeeded at the previous level. SRT just happened to do it all in a
season and a half :-)
Sadiq [ who thanks God for kind providence ] Yusuf
--
Sadiq Yusuf
si...@iastate.edu
Pavel
Years ago,
I read an incedent between Marshall and Venksarkar. In a test (against
WI) Venksarkar was batting at 86 not out. Marshall was throwing bouncers
to him to intimidate him. He was hit by a bouncer. Then he hooked
consequtively three bouncers (for four) and failed to hook fourth one
correctly. So he got out off Marshall at 98 and was very much angry at
the Marshall-bowling. I believe at the start of his career, Venksarkar
was not very much good against fast bowling. But in early 80's he became
a really good batsman against pace.
thanks
-Pavel
Ranjit B. Kher
Saurabh Jang (sj...@mtu.edu) wrote:
: Sadiq Yusuf (si...@iastate.edu) wrote:
: : (until I read rsc :-) And, BTW, Marshall *hated* Vengsarkar more than
: : anyone in the cricketing world - going back to his (Marshalls) debut
: : test in 78/79.
: Sadiq, could you elaborate on this? Boy, does Vengsarkar know how
: to make the wrong enemies! Marshall could have done a Contractor
: on him!
Don't remember the details but is something like this. When
Marshall came out to bat in his debut, Vensarkar was sledging- making
comments like - this kid can't bat.... just bowl it on the stumps and
he'll get out. I don't believe he instulted his bowling though:-)
Ranjit
: : Thus, Saurav was sent on the tour to Australia when he was 18 years old
: : and clearly not ready for it. He was spoiled and arrogant (reports in
: : the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta insist that he did not want to carry
: : drinks as 12th man in Australia, as he considered it beneath his station
: : :-). And, in cricketing terms, he was not ready. He had played
: I think I like this guy more and more! It takes a lot of cheekiness
Saurabh Jang
Ranjit B. Kher (ra...@wpi.edu) wrote:
: Don't remember the details but is something like this. When
: Marshall came out to bat in his debut, Vensarkar was sledging- making
: comments like - this kid can't bat.... just bowl it on the stumps and
: he'll get out. I don't believe he instulted his bowling though:-)
Captain Diplomacy himself! BTW I remember that 98 that someone mentioned.
Vengsarkar was one of the few batsem who wasn't scared of really fast bowling.
You all know how Azhar bhai batted in West Indies. He was so jump that
he would have put Bugs Bunny to shame. I believe that Vengsarkar's
comment on "People who are scared to get in the line" was directed solely at
him.
Wasiuddin Wahid
I am not sure Saurav Ganguly is the same Ganguly that toured Australia. There was another Ganguly, Senashish I think who I bet toured Australia in 1991/92.
-wasi.
sda...@cc.memphis.edu
In article <1996Jun12.0...@media.mit.edu>, wa...@athena.mit.edu (Wasiuddin Wahid) writes:
> I am not sure Saurav Ganguly is the same Ganguly that toured Australia. There was another Ganguly, Senashish I think who I bet toured Australia in 1991/92.
>
> -wasi.
Snehasish is Saurav's elder brother. Both represented Bengal and East Zone. But
Snehasish never got a chance to represent India. Saurav toured downunder in
1992. Snehasish is considered to be more elegant and talented than Saurav. But
he never made to the big league.
Datta.
Amitabha Lahiri
In article <4piqme$k...@news.iastate.edu> Sadiq Yusuf (si...@iastate.edu)
wrote:
> >I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
> >Rohan Kanhai...
> He is.
Sadiq, can you point me to an article anywhere that `touts' Saurav Ganguly
a `Bengal's answer to Rohan Kanhai'? Thank you.
> I do think, though, that everyone does Ganguly an injustice
Everyone including yourself. See above.
> the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta insist that he did not want to carry
> drinks as 12th man in Australia, as he considered it beneath his station
The Bengali newspapers in Calcutta are crap. As is any other newspaper
anywhere else in the world. However, since we are on the subject, perhaps
you can tell us what the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta said after Banerjee
was not given a bowl in the second innings when Australia were hanging on
for dear life and after he had taken 3-47 in the first innings.
> Now he is back in the team. I dont think he should be :-) - I
> would still pick Kambli over him. But that doesnt make him a bad player
But I would pick him over Joshi and Mhambrey combined. Bats better than
Joshi and bowls as well as Mhambrey. And I have seen all three here.
(If you can trust Phil Shead, you can trust me just as well.)
> cricket, we can only hope he will recover soon and get to the level that
> was once predicted for him - a good opener would be nice to have
> (especially since we dont seem to actually have one, at the moment :-)
And what exactly is happening with Amol Muzumdar these days?
> Sadiq [ who thinks too much of the CAB is often a bad thing :-) ] Yusuf
Amitabha [ who thinks most Indian cricket fans don't have a clue about what
politics is, let alone what politics goes on in the Indian cricket circles]
--
Amitabha Lahiri MAPS University of Sussex A.La...@central.susx.ac.uk
No one else is responsible for what I say and vice versa.
Today it's the Bengalis, tomorrow it will be you.
Ravi N Arunkundram
>> >I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
>> >Rohan Kanhai...
>
>> He is.
>
>Sadiq, can you point me to an article anywhere that `touts' Saurav Ganguly
>a `Bengal's answer to Rohan Kanhai'? Thank you.
The proferred gratitude notwithstanding, the question was rhetorical
and was answered in that spirit. If Sadiq says 'Sacchin is a pathan's
worst nightmare in pads and gloves' - you do not rebut by asking him
to produce the said pathan in flesh and blood.
All that he said is that a lot of people in the east think he (ganguly
not Sadiq) is a great player. Surprising that with your flair for the
hyperbole and cant you've missed this other debating style...
>> I do think, though, that everyone does Ganguly an injustice
>
>Everyone including yourself. See above.
Exactly how ? 'tis most puzzling, this line of reasoning.
Snip.
>Amitabha [ who thinks most Indian cricket fans don't have a clue about what
>politics is, let alone what politics goes on in the Indian cricket circles]
We'll allow you to hold forth on that subject. In my Cal/KGP days, we
always held that the 'bong' was given to two delightful institutions
and a most insalubrious third. The first two were 'adda' and 'maach'
while the third was that nether region in the minds of Indian fans
(which leaves them clueless) that you have alluded to. We are all ears.
Ravi (I suspect after this tour we'll all believe that Sunil Ganguly
was a better Ganguly than Saurav).
Sadiq Yusuf
In article <4prj50$8...@infa.central.susx.ac.uk>,
Amitabha Lahiri <mp...@central.susx.ac.uk> wrote:
>In article <4piqme$k...@news.iastate.edu> Sadiq Yusuf (si...@iastate.edu)
>wrote:
>> Ravi Aron <ravi...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> >I hope this is not the same player who is touted as Bengal's answer to
>> >Rohan Kanhai...
>
>> He is.
>
>
Hum :-) Not sure I can point you to a "Bengal's answer to
Kanhai", but, as I said in my last post, there were *several* articles
that referred to him as the "Tendulkar of the East".
>> I do think, though, that everyone does Ganguly an injustice
>
>Everyone including yourself. See above.
>
Nope, nope. It wasnt *me* who called him "Bengal's answer to
Kanhai" - it was Ravi :-) And when I said "he is", it was meant as
"yes,he is the same person", not "yes, they called him Bengal's answer
to Kanhai" :-) Sorry for the misunderstanding :-)
>> the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta insist that he did not want to carry
>> drinks as 12th man in Australia, as he considered it beneath his station
>
>The Bengali newspapers in Calcutta are crap. As is any other newspaper
>anywhere else in the world. However, since we are on the subject, perhaps
>you can tell us what the Bengali newspapers in Calcutta said after Banerjee
>was not given a bowl in the second innings when Australia were hanging on
>for dear life and after he had taken 3-47 in the first innings.
>
Heh :-) I cant read Bengali, you know that :-) BTW, I wouldnt
quite dismiss the reports that he was reluctant to do drinks duty -
apart from the Bengali paper reports (who, I agree, arent always to be
trusted when talking about Ganguly - he is disliked intesely, almost to
the point of hatred at time, by several of them). As I was saying, apart
from the Bengali papers, there was the veiled Azhar comment at the end
of the tour saying "the attitude of certain young players left a lot to
be desired". Since SRT was seen as the only other "young player", and no
one had accused him of a bad attitude on the tour, that comment was read
by most to be aimed at Saurav (sort of like Vengsarkar's "some players
seemed scared to get in line with the ball" in WI was seen by most to be
aimed at Azhar).
And, the Sportsworld commenting on the team selection to England
this time around mentioned that Ganguly had been picked despite, "by all
reports, not even being able to do 12th man duties properly in
Australia". Sportsworld too, while a national magazine, is printed out
of Calcutta, I believe, so who knows.
All I *can* tell you for a fact, is that Saurav is not
particularly liked in Calcutta, because he has been seen as arrogant and
something of a wastrel (in terms of his talent). He is probably the
least liked of the Bengal Ranji team (I get this from people who have
watched several Bengal games at Eden, and seen the crowd reaction). His
brother Snehasis, OTOH, is *loved* - people see him as a trier who does
all he can to maximize his performance. (Snehasis is probably the 2nd
best loved Bengal player, after Utpal Chatterjee).
>> Now he is back in the team. I dont think he should be :-) - I
>> would still pick Kambli over him. But that doesnt make him a bad player
>
>But I would pick him over Joshi and Mhambrey combined. Bats better than
>Joshi and bowls as well as Mhambrey. And I have seen all three here.
>(If you can trust Phil Shead, you can trust me just as well.)
>
Heh :-) It wasnt *just* Phil, though :-) Everyone seemed to
agree that Saurav was just badly out of his depth in Australia in 1992 -
Saurav himself said in an interview lately that he wasnt mature enough,
but feels he is more mature now.
On this tour, Saurav has been fairly effective with the ball -
close to Mhambrey. However, I still dont think I'd rank him on the same
level as a bowler :-) First class performances in India cant be
*totally* ignored, after all, nor can performances with the ball when
bowling together vs England A.
For the record, though, I would have picked neither Joshi nor
Mhambrey for my first test team - I had Hirwani and Saurav in my side
(with Saurav being 3rd seamer). And that might well be the team for the
2nd test, anyway.
>> cricket, we can only hope he will recover soon and get to the level that
>> was once predicted for him - a good opener would be nice to have
>> (especially since we dont seem to actually have one, at the moment :-)
>
>And what exactly is happening with Amol Muzumdar these days?
>
Amol, unfortunately, isnt an opener :-) But he's doing ok - his
fans (ie me :-) were very disappointed with his season because we had
hoped it would be a break-out one. But he didnt do too badly - had a
double ton at the Duleep level (his 3rd double hundred in 2.5 seasons of
fc cricket). Still, there doesnt seem to be much room in the middle
order at the moment, so he'll have to bide his time, in all probability.
Until after the tours of RSA and WI, at any rate, after which there
should be *lots* of room :-)
>> Sadiq [ who thinks too much of the CAB is often a bad thing :-) ] Yusuf
>
>Amitabha [ who thinks most Indian cricket fans don't have a clue about what
>politics is, let alone what politics goes on in the Indian cricket
circles]
Sadiq [ who thinks fans conjecture about politics
- because thats all they can really do :-) ] Yusuf
>--
>Amitabha Lahiri MAPS University of Sussex A.La...@central.susx.ac.uk
>No one else is responsible for what I say and vice versa.
>Today it's the Bengalis, tomorrow it will be you.
--
Sadiq Yusuf
si...@iastate.edu
Shariq Ahmed Tariq
Well it started when Marshall made his debut against Indian in India.
Marshall, who was playing his third first class and first test match, was at
the crease when Vengsarkar successfully appealed against him. Marshall,
convinced that he was not out protested, but the umpire (Kishen I
think)persisted with the decision. Marshall broke down and had tears
rolling down his cheeks as he walked back to the pavillion and the
Indian crowd heckled him and someone in the crowd said something
like,"...poor boy has not lost his mother's face..". Marshall never
forgave Vengsarkar for that action and whenever he bowled to him did so
with a vengeance. Vengsarkar was never "really good" against fast bowling
as he was against spin and medium pace but he was in no way intimidated
by it. Very gutsy guy and a super team man Dilip was. The incident you
mentioned was in a test match when approaching his 100 Vengsarkar hooked
Marshall for a six and a couple of boundaries and was on 96 when he top
edged a hook off Marshall, who as you correctly said had unleashed a
fusillade of bouncers, and was caught at deep long or fine leg. To get a
complete picture of this scenario read Marshall's "Marshall Arts".
Awesome book.
Me
sda...@cc.memphis.edu
In article <4ptrp3$e...@news.iastate.edu>, si...@iastate.edu (Sadiq Yusuf) wroye:
>
>
> Heh :-) I cant read Bengali, you know that :-) BTW, I wouldnt
> quite dismiss the reports that he was reluctant to do drinks duty -
> apart from the Bengali paper reports (who, I agree, arent always to be
> trusted when talking about Ganguly - he is disliked intesely, almost to
> the point of hatred at time, by several of them). As I was saying, apart
> from the Bengali papers, there was the veiled Azhar comment at the end
> of the tour saying "the attitude of certain young players left a lot to
> be desired". Since SRT was seen as the only other "young player", and no
> one had accused him of a bad attitude on the tour, that comment was read
> by most to be aimed at Saurav (sort of like Vengsarkar's "some players
> seemed scared to get in line with the ball" in WI was seen by most to be
> aimed at Azhar).
I second your views about Saurabh. I read this not only in bengali news papers
but also in english news papers like, The Telegraph. People in Cal do believe
that Saurabh has an attitude problem when it comes to carrying drinks, gloves
etc. This may be probably due to his affluent background. He was perhaps
not matured enough to handle the Indian cap in 1992-93.
I still remmeber even in club level matches in Calcutta, Saurabh has always been
the target of the crowd. Though he did not get much chance in Australia,
Saurabh's off the field attitude was an embarrasment to most of the Calcuttans.
However, Subroto Banerjee, who hails from Jamshedpur, is a likable character in
Calcutta. This is becuse he gave his best on and off the field. Banerjee was a
good swing bowler and performed reasonably well in Australia. But for some
strange reason he fell out of Azza's good book.
But I believe people in bengal still respect Saurabh as a player. I guess he is
the most talented player bengal has produced after Subroto Guha (pace bowler).
BTW Saurabh is not only a good cricketer but also excelled in the field of
studies. He graduated from St.Xavier's College with a first class in bachelors
of commerce. I hope he keeps the Bengal Flag flying high.
Datta.