If I were a betting man, I'd take a wager on the Indian selectors retaining Sourav Ganguly as captain for the forthcoming South African tour, regardless of media reports of the Prince of Kolkata incurring their displeasure. I believe that when they meet to select the captain, they will keep in mind the need for continuity at such a crucial juncture - on the verge of a demanding tour of South Africa,where both the opposition and the conditions will pose a huge challenge. No new or recalled captain can be saddled with that kind of responsibility or pressure.

Two of the three other candidates for the position will be making a comeback from injury-linked layoffs. Both Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble will have enough to occupy their minds, trying to regain the confidence that their fitness is equal to the task of undertaking such an arduous tour, and can do without the additional pressure. Rahul Dravid, too, should be left to concentrate on his batting. He will have to succeed in a major way in his role of sheet anchor, if Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly have to flourish, in their more flamboyant styles. Captaincy will be a needless additional burden at this stage.

Far from suggesting that Ganguly should be persisted with as skipper merely by default, I do believe the Bengal lefthander has done enough in his nascent career as top gun, to merit approval and extension of his reign. He has proved to be a more imaginative leader of men than either Azharuddin or Tendulkar, with probably only Ajay Jadeja among former captains showing greater flair. There is something abrasive about his style, at least as seen from the outside, but he has repeatedly shown the guts to back his instincts. He does seem stubborn sometimes, but by and large, the bowlers seem to be comfortable with the fields he gives them. Unlike Tendulkar, he tends largely to leave them alone once they start their overs. And the youngsters in the team seem to appreciate the support he has extended them through thick and thin.

Of course critics may agree that there is scope for improvement in the area of tactics. Many of the Indian captain's moves seem to be based on intuition rather than cold logic, and his bowling changes can sometimes baffle you. I am particularly unhappy, for instance, that he tended to bring Harbhajan Singh on too late into the attack in Sri Lanka. Admittedly, the wickets aided seam bowling more than spin, but here was a young spinner straining at the leash to have a go at the Lankans, following his 'Australian summer', and he was being held back, no doubt for good cricket reasons. But the psychological effect of early introduction would have been huge on Harbhajan, and the top order batsmen would have struggled to move their feet against spin in the midst of seam. The Sikh should have been on in the first 12-15 overs in every game and the seamers brought back after a while.

The best aspect of Ganguly's captaincy is his refusal to be intimidated by his opposite number, a quality that may come in handy in South Africa, where he will have a couple of additional brains to pick among his senior colleagues. My vote goes to him for the top spot.

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