Rohit Roy expresses his feelings at Saurav Gangulys inclusion in the national cricket team.

I had tears in my eyes after seeing the ad in which Saurav Ganguly says ‘Mera naam Saurav Ganguly hai..bhule toh nahin’. Congratulations to the Indian fan…Dada is back! All must remember my angry outburst when Dada was first dropped around ten months back and most of you were probably wondering what’s an actor doing writing about cricket. Well, I am an actor alright but I am also the over zealous Indian fan. I felt very strongly about the issue and so did all my cricket crazy friends. Fortunately, my voice turned out to be the voice of the nation. Many felt that Saurav Ganguly should not have been dumped the way he was and also that his form was not the only reason he was dropped, especially after he had led India to many a close and famous wins.

First, he was dropped and then picked for Pakistan and then dropped again for the second Test which was played on a track where even my grandmother could have scored a century. Maybe, the selectors didn’t want to look bad. Then the entire team kept under performing but he was still kept out. The official reason they gave; they were looking at GenNext team. Ha!

Fighter that he is, he went back to domestic cricket but never gave up. He kept batting and bowling his heart out with players who probably worshipped the ground he walks on. And finally, after team India’s dismal performance in South Africa, Dada was called back. Justice had been done and the reason given this time; his experience! Surprise, surprise!

Now, Saurav faces the toughest challenge of his career. The South African pitches are going to really test his technique and just as many eyes are waiting for him to stumble, others like me will be praying that he passes this test with flying colours.

But I want more! I strongly believe that he should be reinstated as the Indian captain (no offence to Rahul). The reason is simple, whether he performs with the bat or ball or not, only time will tell. But as captain, he will bring back that fire in the belly of the players and that killer instinct to reconvert this team into the world beaters they once were. Cheers to Dada and the Indian team… ooh aah India… aaya India!