Few months back, I, like many others, had written off Saurav Ganguly. I did not see him returning back to the Indian team, except if it happened via some political manipulation.
And today, he is not only back in the team, he is one of the most consistent batsmen in the team at this time. So much for the youth brigade in the team, we have all the old stalwarts back. No Raina, no Venugopal Rao, no R P Singh, not even a Kaif. Saurav, Dravid, Sachin sounds like WC 2003 or even earlier times!
And yet, as all of them seem to be in decent nick now, it gives more confidence and comfort for us fans. At least now, if we are 3 down for something, we do not have to feel that its all over. We see hope even at that stage.
Speaking of which, I do not think we have a mature head amongst the latter batsmen – someone who can hold his end, play out the overs, inspite of wickets falling at the opposite end, and try to make a run for victory at the end. Obviously I mean a player beyond our mainstays of Sachin, Dravid, etc.
Yuvraj – maybe? But I suppose he should be a part of our main batters’ list.
Dhoni and Dinesh Karthick show a lot of promise. Whether they can be depended upon, in crisis, and consistently, is something we have to wait and see.
I am talking of players like Symonds, Shoaib Malik, Jacob Oram or even a Russel Arnold. Lets see if a Dhoni or a Karthik or an Irfan Pathan coming down the order can occupy this slot.
On to the World Cup then..
Random Musings 
Speaking spiritually, I think Ganguly must have cleaned out a LOT of his past sins in order to be given a new lease of life, because as you said, most of us had been absolutely convinced that he is not going to be able to make a comeback. Credit to Dilip Vengsarkar?
As for the mature head, I do believe Dhoni is the answer. More so than Karthick and Pathan. Next to Ganguly, I think Dhoni is our most consistent batsman at least in the one day format. I think he would be a great #6/#7 bat and can really turn it up a notch if he is promoted in case of a long partnership in the beginning. He is perfect for the end, of course, and at the same time he has the head to stay long in case India goes down 4 or 5 wickets before the 20th over.
The problem I see is that there is no one else like him. Yuvraj, maybe. But no one else after #4 has “staying power” and that means, one of our top order bats has to stay till the end or near there, to be able to push for a particular target/total.
But the way India played the current series against SL, it does make you feel that it is ready for the WC. Of course, you have to discount the fact that SL was without Murali and Vaas, but still they had most of the other talent in the team.
So yea, on to the world cup!
What I can grant Saurav is very clearly, an amazing amount of mental strength and resolve. He was clearly determined to not go out that way. In some time, he will retire – on his own terms. Each innings till date has seen him grit his teeth and work his way to his innings. He has been hurt when he has lost his wicket. I mean, going to Ranji Trophy matches (against Orissa and Assam, probably travelling in railway, spending time in ordinary dressing rooms!), playing in English county, was great.
Now see Sehwag. He has not been given the actual boot. So he hangs around, works at the nets alone, with the coaching staff, and uses his PR agency, to keep getting written about. And hoping to stay in the team, as a result of all these. The effort difference in the two cases, is there to see. Perhaps hence also, the result difference.. !
Catch more of my thoughts in some other cricket related posts, that will keep coming up, from now, as we head to the World Cup!