Sourav Ganguly

Is there a more fascinating soap opera in the world at the moment than the continuing travails of Sourav Ganguly and the Indian Cricket Board? In short summary:

Indian captain Ganguly had a public spat with Indian coach Greg Chappell
Chappell and Ganguly made up
Ganguly was sacked as captain
Ganguly was dropped as a player
Ganguly was picked again
Ganguly was dropped again
Ganguly was picked again to play in the single most important tour in the Indian calendar - the tour to Pakistan
The team manager (who is not a selector) announces that Ganguly will play in the test matches.

I can't help but shake my head and laugh. Ganguly is such an icon of Indian cricket that his presence in the side cannot help but be felt by his comrades. And that feeling cannot help but be negative. Pity poor Rahul Dravid who must attempt to unify a faction-riven side while somehow also incorporating a bitter predecessor. Have even more pity for poor old Greg Chappell. How on earth can he be expected to motivate Ganguly without opening up more breaches in their relationship, especially when the player has already been guaranteed a spot in the team?

I have hunted around to try and find some insights into this chaos and have found a couple of references. Javagal Srinath pretty much confirms the obvious - that Ganguly should have stepped down before he was pushed. And of course the almost omniprescient Peter Roebuck manages to get to the nub of the matter via his usual array of pretty and pithy soundbites.