Dadaism: Cap'n Can't Duck

Along the way, he has also become India's most successful captain ever with 19 Test wins. Nine of those have come overseas, compared with seven in the 75 years before he became captain. Even Waugh has acknowledged it. "Ganguly is the best person to lead India. He is competitive, demanding and knows what he wants from his players," he had said after the 2001 series.

If the ban is indeed upheld, Ganguly would do well to treat it as an opportunity. Three months short of his 33rd birthday, he has time to redeem himself as batsman and captain. Ravi Shastri has said in a column: "In a sense, the suspension could not have been better timed. It will allow Ganguly time to think through his problems." Akram agrees: "It can be a blessing in disguise. He should play club games, or first-class games if there are any."

There is little evidence that his current slump is a genuine decline, especially if one looks at his one-day record. He has been the most prolific Indian batsman in the last five years, falling just short of 1,000 runs in 2004 despite not scoring a century.

Even Australians, who like to think of themselves as hard-as-nails, allow their captains an honourable exit, showing enormous patience when Greg Chappell, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh suffered crippling slumps. They were nudged, never pushed.

Ganguly, as always, will not be found short on spirit. He is no stranger to life's little twists. The joy of being selected for Bengal's Ranji team came wrapped in the dampener that he was replacing elder brother Snehashish. After being thought of as a child prodigy in 1992, he spent four years in the wilderness before bouncing back with a dream Test debut in 1996. He rebelled against the family to marry Dona. His private life has been a matter of national debate and fodder for Messrs McGrath & Co ("How's Nagma?" they asked gently the moment Ganguly would come out to bat in the 2001 series). But he has understood the occupational hazards well, stating before the West Indies tour of 2002: "Probably, I'm the most-hated captain. Anybody who can read and write can find it out."

In any case, Ganguly, the good batsman and great captain, deserves to ride into the sunset with his head held high and not forced out by a ban like this. It was just slow over rate, which, vice-captain Rahul Dravid feels, must be blamed on the entire team. It had no bearing on the outcome of the battle. And, to borrow Boris Becker's response to a shock second-round loss at Wimbledon in 1987, nobody died.