GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE

Peter Roebuck writes in The Hindu (Saturday 04 August, 2007) about the stellar roles played by Saurav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan in the famous test win over England at Trent Bridge.

Not long ago, both Saurav and Zaheer were out in the dumps. Ganguly was stripped of his captaincy and then lost his place in the team. Clearly, the lefthander was sitting on his achievements as a player and as a captain as well. The writing was on the wall, as the cliché goes.

Zaheer was not bowling his best and worse, there were reports of indiscipline. Zaheer was perceived to be someone who was not really playing for the team.

Now, both of these fallen heroes have to use another oft-used cliché, risen from the ashes. In a way the credit for the turnaround should go to Greg Chappell. It was during the reign of Chappell as the coach of the Indian team that these two players were shown the exit.

Chappell could not achieve much given his propensity to talk hours about the ‘processes’ and ‘experiments’. But if a small kick in the backs could achieve some tangible benefits, then it is a success. The much-maligned coach could now bask in this glory.

Let us give credit where it is due.