Never before has the exclusion of one player from a cricket team created such a furore. The Chief Minister of Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya called Saurav’s exclusion an insult to Bengal and it’s people. This is a dangerous statement aimed at fueling the fire. It is also extremely irresponsible, coming from a Chief Minister. My views on the Chief Minister’s cricketing knowledge are well known ( See archives - Of meddling politicians and hapless starlets). Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Gurudas Dasgupta and sundry politicians have loudly protested Dada’s exclusion and alleged a political vendetta against the ex-skipper. Even a great cricket pundit like Laloo Yadav got in a word. Bengali film actors led by Soumitra Chatterjee, Ranjit Mullick and Rupa Ganguly have also joined the protests. Passenger trains have been stopped, roadblocks have been put up and a bandh has been called. To complete the farce, time has been set aside next week by Parliament to discuss the exclusion of Dada from the Indian cricket team.

One would think that this is a national crisis of grave importance. While scores of poor people die in a stampede for relief coupons in Chennai and in an unprecedented cold wave in North India, Parliament has a more important matter to discuss - the exclusion of a player from the Indian cricket team. Well done!

The politicians are not restricting themselves to mere comments on this occasion. They are actually whipping up the frenzy. This is a very dangerous precedent. Soon, the other states will pick up on this and team selection will become a regional battle. The selectors have a job to do. They have been nominated by the respective state associations to select the team. Cricket fans have a legitimate right to disagree with them but the mass agitation that has plagued this decision is totally uncalled for. A true leader would try to douse the flames instead of fanning them. Alas, we only have politicians and no leaders. Politicians will only fly with the wind. To expect them to brave a storm on principle or for the common good remains a pipe dream for us.

I can understand the outrage of the common man in Bengal. It is a purely emotional response and says something about the siege mentality of the Bengali psyche. That their views are totally colored and communal in nature was proven when Eden Gardens jeered the national team ( See archives - What can you say, A national disgrace). The Left parties have been most shrill in cynically exploiting the sentiments of the people. This is the cheapest and most effective way of projecting themselves as the defenders of Bengali pride and the champions of the cause of a fallen Bengali hero. The beauty of it, is that it takes just a statement in front of obliging cameras to show the people that you are fighting for them. As we all know, the more emotive the issue, the easier it is to project oneself as a leader.

The Left parties have, with some justification in the past, projected themselves as the prime forces fighting the scourge of communalism and regionalism that afflicts our nation. Unfortunately, it seems that the opportunity to gain easy popularity was too tempting for them to resist.

I am not going to make a long analysis of Dada here. I have done this extensively before ( See archives - Sad commentary, Shenanigans in Bulawayo, Time to say goodbye). Saurav has been dropped simply because Yuvraj is, as of today, a better batsmen and future prospect. Against Pakistan this year, Saurav scored - 21, 12, 12, 1, 2 ( ave.- 9.6). When Australia toured India in 2004 he got - 45, 5, 9 ( ave.- 19.7). More important than the low scores was the fact that he looked out of place. His dismissals were predictable and he looked clueless on some occasions. Had he been rightly dropped then we would not be in this mess now. I attach no importance to his century in Zimbabwe as it is effectively a club side. Any of the top 50 Ranji batsmen in India would have scored a better century against the likes of Dabengwa. Robin Uthappa would probably hit it in less than 50 balls. For the record, Dada took 262 to score 101 and we all know what he did after that.

The first 5 batsmen in the team select themselves - Sehwag, Gambhir/other, Dravid, Sachin and VVS. I do not think there is any reasonable debate about that. Of these, Dravid, VVS and Sachin are over thirty. Over the next few years the team has to gradually blood new players  for a smooth transition. Dada, clearly, is the weakest of the seniors and has to be the first to go - it’s as simple as that. How else is the team going to go forward ? Yuvraj and Kaif have to be given their chance now. Add to this Dada’s poor record against Pakistan and the decision of the selectors seems perfectly reasonable, even bold, by hindsight. It is ironic that the man who built the foundations of this Indian cricket team is now the biggest impediment to it's progress. Ganguly is now too blinded by self preservation to see that.

This whole sordid drama shows how passionately we take our cricket. It is also time for us now to passionately protect it from being destroyed by vested interests. The game is far bigger than any individual, including Saurav Ganguly. I hope the selectors will hold the line against  naked blackmail.

Joke of the Day - Jagmohan Dalmiya complaining that Ganguly was dropped because of politics!!

If there ever was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.......