Yesterday’s announcement by John Buchanan on the usage of multiple captains by Kolkata Knight Riders this season is a massive gamble that threatens to derail their campaign. Aside from the uncertainty and changes in strategy from match to match due to a revolving door, the policy threatens to unleash infighting not seen in Indian cricket since the Chappell-Ganguly debacle three years ago.
As Sourav Ganguly sat next too Buchanan at the press conference, he seemed distinctly uneasy, and when asked whether he was upset by the new policy, he skirted around the question before Buchanan interjected, quipping “Of course he will be upset. He is the Prince of Kolkata.”
Ganguly then broke into laughter, but the body language looked distinctly worrying. With two strongly minded individuals in the franchise, it could herald rather stormy times for the Bengal-base outfit.
Buchanan has never been a coach in the serene and low-key mould of a Gary Kirsten or John Wright. On the contrary, he is full of ideas and innovation, whatever one might think of them. And on that front, trouble lurks. Like Greg Chappell, Buchanan can be frank, even to the point of being publically undiplomatic, and is unlikely to defer on an issue in order to placate superstar players.
After the famed Kolkata Test of 2001, when VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted for an entire day to pull India out of certain defeat, Buchanan publicly questioned Shane Warne’s fitness and said that his weight was a factor as Australia’s attack wilted in the same heat. Nor was he perturbed by Warne’s anger and defiance when called into question. Last year, having retired from international cricket, Warne lampooned Buchanan and his methods, claiming that he was living in “La-La Land”. In a radio interview soon after, Buchanan laughed and joked about the incident. Buchanan was never put off by Warne’s vehement opposition, and it’s unlikely that he’ll bend to Ganguly either, at least without a monumental fight.
Like Chappell and the vast majority of Australians, Buchanan places quite a lot of emphasis on fielding, something which Ganguly famously disregarded. Sooner or later, especially in the most frenetic of formats, this will become a source of added tension, as it did when Chappell brought a flock of youngsters into the ODI team in late-2005.
And on that occasion, one of the most chaotic periods in recent cricket history broke out. Already sensing his demise, the nervous Ganguly played politics within the team, shuffling the batting order around and instilling uncertainty into his teammates. Before the dispute with Chappell was brought into the public, Laxman scored a century against Zimbabwe and muttered about negative vibes from within the team. Given what transpired, it’s easy to see who he was referring to. With Ganguly looking over his shoulder again, something that is accentuated by his retirement from first-class cricket and the entailing uncertainty over his form, he could easily revert to his old behaviour and destabilise a team that is already looking weak in the absence of Umar Gul.
It’s something that the Knight Riders could well do without. Perhaps it is the prelude to Ganguly’s departure. Whatever the outcome, the issue needs to be resolved quickly and decisively.
Source – blogs.livemint.com
