ODI preview / Ed Hawkins / 28 January 2008 /

The Racing Post's Ed Hawkins assesses India's chances without their swashbuckling batsman...

They were burning effigies in Kolkata last week. Nothing unusual there. Irate India cricket fans like nothing more to get the matches out at the merest whiff of injustice. Two weeks ago the flames were fanned by the unfairness of their team's demise in the Sydney Test. This time Sourav Ganguly was the spark.

And there is certainly nothing strange about that. No man has ignited the passion of Kolkata residents like Ganguly. He is human paraffin.

The spark was Ganguly being left out of the India one-day squad to play Australia and Sri Lanka in the CB Series, which begins on Friday. So his supporters took to the streets, torching an effigy of selector Kiran More. There were no places for Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman either but it was their prince that the locals wanted to demonstrate about.

Of course it has made no difference. Ganguly's fans have been setting alight to dummies ever since he was dropped from the one-day team for the first time in October 2005.

Instead of stuffing rags with straw to fashion a faux body of the person that has caused their ire, they would be better off sitting down and trying to work out whether India are a better team with Ganguly or not.

And the results they come up with would probably be more enlightening than lighting up and would no doubt put an end to their firestarting.

Ganguly's spell away from the India one-day side which caused such outrage initially should be their first port of call, no matter how many bad memories it may stir up.

From October 2005 to December 2006, Ganguly was jettisoned, a total of 40 matches.

During that period India won 21 matches and lost 18, which would suggest they did not suffer an alarming slump without the left-handed batsman nor a steep rise.
However, they did go on a six-game losing streak, which was only halted when, yes you've guessed it, Ganguly was recalled.

Since his return India have been nothing more than an average one-day team. Which was what they were before. In their last 40 with Ganguly, they have won 21 and lost 17.

The one stirring stat for Ganguly's supporters is the difference in the amount of runs India score with him and without. In that period with Ganguly sulking at home rather than somewhere in the fielding circle, India managed an average of 258 when they batted first. When Ganguly was available for some swashbuckling at the top of the order, they averaged 270.

Even the most ardent petrol sniffer can work out that a cricket team which scores more runs with a certain player in their team than out is weaker for it. A pertinent point for those perusing early prices of [5.0] about India in the CBS.

India's selectors will argue that the team won the inaugural World Twenty20 with a young and vibrant side with old stagers like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Ganguly all absent.

From that point of view it makes sense. At 35 Ganguly is not getting any younger, was part of the awful performance by India at the World Cup and there are plenty of young bucks - like Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa - who deserve an extended run in the team.

Ironic then that it is Sachin Tendulkar who punters should look to for top bat honours in the absence of Ganguly, who was always good value for honours because of his fast-scoring ability.

When Ganguly is not around Tendulkar appears to thrive even more than usual. In that 40-game run when his former captain was dropped, Tendulkar top scored nine times.

If that goes some way to becalming the Ganguly agitators - goodness knows what would happen if Tendulkar was to be deselected - then they should consider that India have won 30 per cent of their matches with Ganguly against Australia as opposed to 31 per cent without.

That will put a dampener on things.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: