India's looking good...

Sachin just smashed his 41st ODI century, Ganguly's back with a vengeance, their opening conundrum's been solved, and the bowlers are getting wickets...

All in all, India after a poor couple of months in the middle, are getting back to where they were a year ago, in more ways than one. Not only are they back to their winnings ways, but the squad shuffling of the past few months seems to have come full circle. They're back to the Ganguly opening, Sachin in the middle, with Zaheer and Agarkar opening the bowling. I, for one, am very excited to see Ganguly back.

In this upcoming World Cup, where there is no clear cut 2nd best team, India, in my opinion, are looking pretty cohesive and tough. Thus the upcoming Ind-SL, along with the Pak-SA ODI series, will give us a clue and perhaps enable us to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of the four '2nd best' teams, one of which is most likely going to battle in Australia in the World Cup final in a couple of months.

Ganguly's comeback

With any other player on the comeback trail, so much attention would seem unwarranted. But this is Saurav Ganguly, a man who inspires and infuriates. I read with great interest how he showed up to practice straight from the airport. How he interacted with the team, how he started practicing. I read with fascination about the 17 year old South African under-19 bowler who bowled at him in the nets. Usually one couldn't be bothered with the fine details of Ganguly's every movement, but these are not usual circumstances.

The story became even more dramatic when he grinded out 83 in his first tour game back. Some observers claimed that he was at his best. Definitely a great start, seeing as the top order failed. The second innings brought it all down to earth, however, where he lasted only a couple of deliveries and scored nothing.

Well, its still interesting to note how everyone is following his every movements. How Greg Chapell greeted him, how the players high-fived him, or did anyone hug him? What did the coach say about him after his 83? Did he change his stance or something?

Such details! But so interesting nevertheless...

He's a shoe-in to play in the first test match after his performance in this game. That's going to be the real test. Sadly Ganguly has not had the immense star power than Tendulkar has enjoyed, and as a result he has been asked to prove a lot more. Tendulkar, in my opinion, has been far from stellar this past year. Yet Tendulkar is on a different plane, and is assessed on a different level. It's unfair, but as an outsider, it seems that Ganguly thrives in situations like these.

The cricketing world is eagerly awaiting the first test match against South Africa. All eyes will be on Saurav. Will he deliver?

Could Ganguly return?

Well, if the media reports are to be believed, Saurav Ganguly could return to the Indian team. The Indian teams recent decline in form, injuries and inexperience in this current squad means the selectors must be forced to reconsider Ganguly. From CricInfo...

India's stuttering form in the one-day arena may have an unlikely beneficiary: Sourav Ganguly is in line for a recall to the Test side, nine months after he was jettisoned followed the resounding 341-run defeat at Karachi.

Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and VRV Singh are likely to be named in the squad for the Tests when the selectors meet on Thursday and, with Rahul Dravid not certain to play in the opening Test, Ganguly could join VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order for what is likely to be a tremendous test of India's batting resources.

Wealth of experience is being considered an asset after Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia failed to make the transition on the bouncier pitches in South Africa. Ganguly has one Duleep Trophy century to his name this season, and the team's think-tank and the national selectors also reason that his will to succeed after all the travails of the past 18 months will inspire him to rediscover the sort of form that he last showed on the arduous tour of Australia three years ago.

If he does does return, there will certainly be some friction between him and Greg. I also don't know how the current players would take to his return. THere has to be some bad blood. These players were quiet while they watched their captain get sidelined by the administration.

One thing is for sure, there would be nothing more exciting then a blazing Ganguly century against a strong South African attack! This poor guy must be so pissed at the BCCI's mistreatment of his career, that he must be aching to perform. Ganguly has overcome hurdles before. He certainly has my support and I really hope he gets selected and lets his bat do the talking.