 Elbowroom for youngsters
It's about time 'tennis elbow' was renamed 'cricket elbow.' First Sachin Tendulkar and now Sourav Ganguly have been diagnosed to suffer from this rather painful condition. Just when Tendulkar has decided to return to competitive cricket via the Challenger series in order to test his fitness for the sterner battles of international cricket, Ganguly has expressed doubts over his participation in the tournament.
What makes Ganguly's indication of his possible withdrawal intriguing is the almost simultaneous statement made by BCCI president R S Mahendra regarding the Prince of Calcutta's future in international cricket. He made references to Ganguly's continued poor form, relieved by the lone century against Zimbabwe, hinted at the possibility of his being removed by the selectors and expressed solidarity with the new coach Greg Chappell. Does all this suggest that the Indian captain is on his way out and does it mean that the elbow injury may be a convenient way out?
The Chappell-Ganguly row continues to consume column-centimetres, with several leading journals speculating on and sometimes downright asserting what happened behind closed doors during the recent review committee meeting. One of them tells the reader that Gavaskar was pro-Ganguly, and that Venkataraghavan reminded him how he had kept his counsel after learning during a flight back to India that he had been removed as India captain. Ravi Shastri is said to have told Ganguly that he started the whole controversy by going to the media with a report of the coach's private conversation with him.
Be that as it may, Ganguly's withdrawal from the Challenger series, if it happens, will provide a youngster with an opportunity to figure in the tournament and impress the selectors. In fact, it has generally been known that every youngster in the three Challenger squads will be given at least one outing. This development only makes the selectors' job easier.
V Ramnarayan
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