I have to admit, I was thinking of turning into a complete d**k at work, and then I came across this little tidbit in Lawrence Booth's latest The Spin (excellent weekly Cricket round-up, you must subscribe - link below).
Thanks Sourav Ganguly, for once again showing us how not to behave when things don't necessarily go your way.
The older I get, the more realize that taking the high road is always the best way to go!
Not many aspects of Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL experience can be called world-class, but Ganguly's extended grump around the stadiums of South Africa has been in a league of its own. You may recall that Ganguly's sense of injustice began to fester a while ago when John Buchanan unveiled his mad-cap multiple-captains plan, a scheme that was regarded with such warmth that it was dropped on the eve of the tournament. The one true captain's armband was then passed to Brendon McCullum, whose form promptly disintegrated. Kolkata have so far won
one game out of eight.
Now the Spin isn't for a moment suggesting Ganguly is in any way smug about this turn of events. But you couldn't exactly accuse him of providing his captain with unequivocal support either. Last week, the KKR troops appeared for an utterly surreal Q&A at a Durban cinema. McCullum, as ever, answered every irritating question with commendable clarity and attention. When Ganguly responded to one query with the very definition of terseness, the look on McCullum's face said "fair enough, Sourav: a short answer, but I respect you for that".
But when Ganguly - who alone seemed responsible for most of the tension in the room - was asked whether he would have made any decisions differently as captain, he shouldered arms regally at the opportunity to support McCullum. "I don't think I'll be able to answer that question," he dead-panned. This time McCullum looked about as stunned as he politely could. It was once said of Ganguly that his cover-drive was second only to God's. But if the Almighty can sulk better than this, the Spin would love to see it.
Stay classy, my Prince of Calcutta.
LINKS
The Guardian: The Spin
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