Pant Vs Samson: The Politics in Indian cricket is no more a secret, the cricketer with an ODI double hundred in Vijay Hazare trophy is sitting on the bench as a 12th man and a cricketer whose performance is falling after every series with an average of 22.9 in ODI’s is still the wicket keeper batsman for India, yes you got it correct it is about the technically sound and sheer class Sanju Samnson and the unorthodox but a power hitter Rishab Panth, The ODI chance that Sanju samson got last time was with Zimbabwe in 2015 was in the team against Bangladesh Series but was not a given a chance, cricket experts have also criticized the team management for not including Samson in the playing 11. Samson has also performed well in 2019 IPL and is comparatively good wicket keeper than Panth, the number of chances that Panth has received has not been utilized by him wisely, the error in stroke play and the giving the wicket away cheaply is a common scenario, on the other hand Samson is in good touch and has been consistent right from IPL 2019 and has a First Class average of 36.8. The question here is how many more chance to an under-performing Panth and to Samson who has proved himself and is waiting to get into the playing 11.

• 

The DADAGIRI 2.0:

From the dressing room to the board room, former Indian captian Sourav ganguly’s effortless transition into highest echelons of cricket administration is a throw back to the days of his artistic offside play.Ganguly has played his cards well of the field to emerge as the unanimous candidate for one of the top jobs in the world cricket: BCCI presidency. He reaffirmed the saying ‘once a leader, always a leader’, for leadership comes naturally to the man who was made captain of the national team when Indian cricket was going through its darkest hour in the wake of the 2000 match-fixing scandal.

Ganguly took on the challenges head on and moulded a bunch of talented, but direction-less, youngsters into world beaters while at the same time striking a fine working relationship with the heavyweights of that era. Be it forming one of the most destructive opening partnership in one-day internationals with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar or backing greenhorns like Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, Ganguly was always sure of himself and at ease. However, to successfully complete his transition from a big player to a top administrator, Ganguly will need to combat a variety of challenges facing Indian cricket at the moment.

Ganguly, who led India to 21 Test wins and the final of the 2003 World Cup, has already been an administrator for the Cricket Association of Bengal, first as its secretary and then president. He also knows a thing or two about the BCCI, having served as member of the technical committee and the Cricket Advisory Committee alongside Tendulkar and VVS Laxman.

There is a likelihood of the Ganguly-led regime engaging in a bitter turf war with the ICC since the world governing body’s proposed Futures Tours Programme (FTP) could significantly affect the BCCI’s revenue.

The ICC leaving India out of its newly-formed working group, formed to figure out a new governance structure for the world body, can only complicate the situation further. To fix the issues facing Indian cricket at the moment, he will have time till September next year when he goes into the mandatory cooling-off period.

By his own admission, it’s an “emergency like situation” in the Board but Ganguly knows all about handling those, having been the focal point of quite a few during his eventful playing days.

The Eden Test

When the two captains walk up to the 22 yards for the toss, the stands at the Eden Gardens will play host to two broad groups of spectators — one who have pure passion for the longer format of the game and the other who just want to be a part of history and are more interested about the pink ball debut on Indian soil. The second lot is expected to outnumber the first by a comfortable margin.

According to CAB sources, such has been the craze that the officials are finding it difficult to entertain requests for tickets. “This kind of craze is there only for IPL matches these days. Seeing such enthusiasm for a Test match is certainly relishing,” said a CAB official. The officials have also lined up a slew of surprises during the match. A team of BSF South Bengal frontiers brass band will perform national anthems for both the teams. And then, the two teams will be ushered in by children suffering from HIV. These children will also get an opportunity to play cricket with a soft pink ball with some of the stalwarts.

“It is mainly the atmosphere that is going to drag the crowds to Eden. I have been a regular at most matches at Eden and have also watched a few Test matches. The entire concept of pink ball is new and makes people feel proud that we in West Bengal are getting to host it,” said Anindyo Nandi, 50-year-old official at a private bank and an Eden Gardens veteran.