Dravid promoted to Test helm

The reign of Sourav Ganguly at the helm of Indian cricket has ended. In a bold move, Rahul Dravid has been named as captain of the Indian Test team. This follows a run of success with the One Day International outfit, after Dravid replaced an injured Ganguly at the start of India’s 6-1 series win over Sri Lanka.

Ganguly has not since earned a recall to the squad, let alone the Indian first XI, and many suspect his international career has now come to an end.

For much time now the selectors have been under pressure with respect to Sourav Ganguly. Once one of the best batsmen in world cricket, Ganguly’s fall was spectacular and well-documented, as a dramatic and sustained period of poor form saw his worth in the team severely questioned.

Ganguly led India in 49 Test matches, with 21 victories, making him the most successful Indian captain. In 2004, he led India to their first win overseas in 11 years. That the win was over Pakistan made it a pinnacle in his captaincy career.

Dravid will meet with the selectors next week, as they pick the team for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts on December 2nd. The move is seen as a “look ahead”, and is part of a seeming overhaul of Indian cricket in preparation for the 2007 World Cup.