Personally, I love them both. I almost idolize the former for his perfection, and admire the fighting spirit that the latter exhibits. Both arguably among the best that this nation has ever produced, have careers that have run parallel over these years, and have been inexorably intertwined with each other at the same time too.
They made their debut together at the Lords in 1996. Ganguly, ever the more flashy of the two, got to a century on debut. Dravid, a ton unlucky, missed his ton by 4 runs. That somewhat set the tones of their careers then on. Ganguly was touted for his aggression and style, and was seen as the man who could make his own luck and laugh in the face of danger. Dravid hung on too, albeit a lot less convincingly, and his was an ideal case of 'slow and steady' not impressing all. He was seen as too slow and technical, and unable to improvise most of the times, and consequently was in and out of the one day team. But test matches told completely different stories. His application and diligence was the stuff of legends, and his extreme concentration and immaculate technique became the subject of many an animated coffee table conversation. And so it was that these two players became indispensables in the team.
So Tendulkar proved he was a pedestrian captain sometime in 2002, and the reins had to be handed over to someone else. Obviously it was Ganguly, for he was the one who could inspire confidence in teammates and awe among foes. He did a few audacious things that went well, reaching the world cup final being one of them, and ventured where no Indian had gone before, like making Steve Waugh wait for the toss, and ripping off his shirt and waving it from the Lords Balcony. That was an unforgettable era of Indian cricket, and what went unnoticed behind his astute leadership was the fact that his deputy Dravid was in the form of his life, and the fact still remains that most of the victories in that period were carved out of Dravid's willow, and by his amazing decision to double up at wicketkeeper, in order to make place for an extra batsman.
It was a peculiar arrangement though. With Ganguly, there was too much drama, and the feeling that something is about to explode in your face. His flamboyance and authority is something that no other Indian captain can boast of, but he courted controversy, and when his form began to dip, talks of nepotism within the team, factions, and bickerings began to do the rounds. Conversely, Dravid continued to stay away from teh spotlight, background man that he was.
Such were these two, unaware of the sweeping changes that were around the corner.
(cont'd)
They made their debut together at the Lords in 1996. Ganguly, ever the more flashy of the two, got to a century on debut. Dravid, a ton unlucky, missed his ton by 4 runs. That somewhat set the tones of their careers then on. Ganguly was touted for his aggression and style, and was seen as the man who could make his own luck and laugh in the face of danger. Dravid hung on too, albeit a lot less convincingly, and his was an ideal case of 'slow and steady' not impressing all. He was seen as too slow and technical, and unable to improvise most of the times, and consequently was in and out of the one day team. But test matches told completely different stories. His application and diligence was the stuff of legends, and his extreme concentration and immaculate technique became the subject of many an animated coffee table conversation. And so it was that these two players became indispensables in the team.
So Tendulkar proved he was a pedestrian captain sometime in 2002, and the reins had to be handed over to someone else. Obviously it was Ganguly, for he was the one who could inspire confidence in teammates and awe among foes. He did a few audacious things that went well, reaching the world cup final being one of them, and ventured where no Indian had gone before, like making Steve Waugh wait for the toss, and ripping off his shirt and waving it from the Lords Balcony. That was an unforgettable era of Indian cricket, and what went unnoticed behind his astute leadership was the fact that his deputy Dravid was in the form of his life, and the fact still remains that most of the victories in that period were carved out of Dravid's willow, and by his amazing decision to double up at wicketkeeper, in order to make place for an extra batsman.
It was a peculiar arrangement though. With Ganguly, there was too much drama, and the feeling that something is about to explode in your face. His flamboyance and authority is something that no other Indian captain can boast of, but he courted controversy, and when his form began to dip, talks of nepotism within the team, factions, and bickerings began to do the rounds. Conversely, Dravid continued to stay away from teh spotlight, background man that he was.
Such were these two, unaware of the sweeping changes that were around the corner.
(cont'd)
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