The de facto stay on the six-ODI ban imposed on India skipper Saurav Ganguly has created a piquant situation -- Who is the captain of the side for the rest of the series?
When the ICC verbally communicated, Tuesday April 12, that Ganguly was to be banned for six ODIs, the board and the national selectors did not even wait for the official written communication.
Reacting with the sort of speed it has not shown before, the selection committee met, and decided that Sridharan Sriram of Tamil Nadu would be brought into the side to replace the Indian skipper.
The committee also decided that Rahul Dravid would lead India, with Virender Sehwag as his deputy, for the remaining ODIs in this series.
That was on the presumption that Ganguly would not be eligible to play. Now he is -- so now what?
Chairman of national selectors Kiran More told rediff.com Thursday (April 14) morning that he was "not aware" of the developments.
"I have not received any official word on Ganguly's eligibility," More said from Kanpur. "As and when I have further information, we will decide."
A further twist was added by BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahindra. Asked for reactions on the development, Mahindra told rediff.com: "If Ganguly is not there in the squad, then how can he play in Kanpur?"
Mahendra's point is that since the national selectors had dropped Ganguly and inducted Sriram into the side, the Indian captain is not at this point in time any longer a part of the 15-member team list.
Given that, the BCCI chief points out, he cannot be included in the playing eleven, let alone lead the side in Kanpur.
(Mahendra and Ganguly have a bit of a history, which dates all the way back to the latter's debut series in Australia. For more, read this story)
The solution is simple: The selectors can reconvene, drop Sriram, bring back Ganguly, even reinstate him as captain if the committee so desires.
But that will raise a further question: Given Ganguly's recent form, given that both his batting, and his captaincy, have slipped, does he deserve to be reinstated?
Does Dravid deserve to be named skipper, then replaced, all within 24 hours?
