There is always a special delight in coming back. Sourav Ganguly experienced this delight when he was recalled to the Indian team after he had been dropped from it. But that delight was nothing compared to what he experienced when he was named the man of the series for the Hero Honda Cup against Sri Lanka. This seemed to vindicate his talent, and he has cause to celebrate. He has shown that his presence is vital for the success of the Indian team. But he and his supporters will make a very big mistake if they use his comeback success as an excuse for abusing those who took the decision to drop him from the side. Most of those who closely follow the game and Ganguly’s career agree that his exit from the team did him a world of good. He has come back to the team as a transformed player. The coach of the Indian team, Greg Chappell — one of the persons who is conventionally and conveniently accused of being instrumental in the dropping of Ganguly — admitted the other day in an interview that he had never seen Sourav fitter: “He has improved his batting, his fielding, his fitness.” Obviously, when Ganguly was away from the Indian squad, he had worked harder to raise the level of his fitness and his performance. When he came back to the side, his attitude had changed and many of the faults in his batting technique had been ironed out. The staying away did him good. Some would say that he needed a hard knock to make him improve himself. Ganguly should, in fact, be grateful that he was dropped. The selectors had been cruel to be kind.

The dropping of Ganguly and his remarkable comeback contain lessons going beyond the individual. In India, the selection of a player and his exclusion are often seen in personal terms. There is no doubt that in the past, selection was indeed based on personal likes and dislikes. But people like Chappell, among others, have ensured that personalities have nothing to do with selection, performance has. This is a process to which Ganguly himself contributed when he was captain of the Indian side. He was never driven by parochial concerns. This distinguished him from many of his eminent predecessors. The exclusion of Ganguly and his return to the team demonstrate that the selection process has transcended personalities and parochialism. Performance and professionalism have, at last, become part of Indian cricket. Lovers of the game will expect that both are here to stay.