Excluded from the Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka last month, Ganguly made it to the tour party after considerable drama that included a one-on-one meeting with Pawar. The ex-captain was on his way to Pakistan from a Ranji match against Tamil Nadu in Calcutta when team manager Raj Singh Dungarpur's interview to a TV channel, which contained some adverse remarks about him, ruffled his fans. Dungarpur went into denial mode but the damage was done. Coach Greg Chappell's matter-of-fact assertion that Ganguly shouldn't expect any favours as a former captain indicated his position had not changed much. Then, it seemed Chappell was in no great hurry to vote for Ganguly's return to Tests—the relative rawness of the two openers, Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer, must have helped change that.
As for Dravid, he had to keep reiterating that all 16 players were available for selection and that he would make his decision public only on Friday. "It's always good to keep the opposition guessing," he said. "It's good to be in a situation where one can choose from so many good players. Five will be unlucky to miss out."
Ganguly himself has done his best to become one of the boys, training hard with them and finding comfort in the company of another former captain, Sachin Tendulkar. He has his work cut out in ensuring that no one sees him as a disruptive element, and in disproving Imran Khan's comment that it is always difficult for a captain to start playing as an ordinary team member. He has also avoided stirring up controversy by saying nothing about the question of his selection in the XI. "Whether you are the captain or not, playing for the country is the biggest motivation. Captaincy is only a bonus," he said, not rising to the baits thrown at him at a media interaction. "I think we need to play with the same intensity like last time to win the series. When I came here last time, I wanted to perform well and my aim is the same this time around too."
For all such doubts in the ranks, some bookmakers have installed India—No. 2 in the ICC Test rankings—as the favourites. India will need to get its basics right if its cricketers are to return home with their heads held high. It does have the firepower to beat a vastly improved Pakistan again. Whether that happens or not, competitive cricket can ensure that boredom is not allowed to loom over the series.
