Ganguly 1 Demons 0

It's been a while since I have blogged - a little more than a year now I guess. Very obviously, this post has been prompted by Saurav Chandidas Ganguly's impending retirement at the end of this India-Australia series. Goes without saying that his retirement would leave a huge void - I have no shame in admitting that he has been my personal favorite in this team.

There are two Gangulys that I know of - precisely the reason why is a bundle of contradictions. The first Ganguly battles. Battles the selectors, battles the opposition but more importantly, battles his own internal demons - demons that have, in the past, almost taken him to the brink of no return.

"The question in life is not whether you get knocked down... you will. The question is, are you ready to get back... and fight for what you believe in" - Dan Quayle

This quote very much personifies what the first Ganguly stood for - and fought for. He took over the reins of the Indian team at a time of great uncertainty, right in the midst of the match-fixing saga. He believed in the young guns at a time when Team India wanted to leave the past behind and could have done with infusion of some fresh blood. As a rule, he fought for them. Strangely, that is also where we keep bumping into the other Ganguly. Low on confidence, high on insecurity and yet still the fighter.

Confidence was as much his friend as it was his internal demon - a bit like Calvin's Hobbes - imaginary and only visible to him. Only he knew which Ganguly was taking the field with him that day. I suspect we saw the first Ganguly at Bangalore during the first test. I expected some nerves during the test but he did okay. I have a sinking feeling that we will also get to see the second Ganguly sometime during the series - where he can't do a thing right; when he wouldn't look into the eyes of disaster daring it to go on.

For a guy who battled hard to build a young and aggressive Team India, he has been especially stubborn when it comes to his own exit. For a guy who left Robin Singh and Prasad out of the squad once they were a little over the hill, Saurav has been particularly reluctant to live by the same rules. Instead, he is back to what he does best. Battling. And every single time, the Prince of Kolkata has risen from the ashes like a phoenix - emerging stronger.

The thing I liked best about the first Ganguly was his almost compulsive urge to wear his heart on his sleeve - that is, if he was not barechested like he was that fine day at Lord's.

Chances are, in any other era, Saurav would have been an even better batsman - tragically for India, his career coincided with the genius of Sachin and the determination of Rahul - both of whom would end their careers as two of India's finest. What he lacked in the averages, though, he more than made up in BALLS. He fought - he fought like nobody's business - in fact, he is one up after the first test.

Here goes my ode: "Aye captain!!!"