Ganguly & Dhoni, Are They Really So Different ?

I know many of you will say this is insane and an absurd thought. Die Hard Sourav's and MSD's Fans will scoff at this very idea. I personally know of few people who will want my head for even saying this ;). But give it some thought for a moment. Mind you, I myself am a Diehard Fan of Sourav Ganguly but also an avid admirer of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's capabilities and achievements.I have heard a common sentence said many times when comparision between the two arises. "Ganguly built a team of champions, Dhoni was lucky to get a team of Champions". It would be untrue, if I say that I disagree. In the last major tournament, The World Cup 2011 that India won, no doubt there were many stars that actually came to the team under Sourav's Captaincy. Sehwag, Yuvrag, Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan, Munaf, Pathan, Praveen Kumar etc. Dhoni himself came to Indian Team under Ganguly's Captaincy. But hasnt Dhoni's Captaincy brought match winners like R Ashwin, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, R Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan etc out in the open.We all were apprehensive about the fate of Indian Cricket Team once the Giants retire. Proven Greats like Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh etc are missing from the regulars. Some have retired, some are on the verge of retiring and some are out of form.Indian Cricket also faced a lot of flak by everyone everywhere after the numerous scandals that hit IPL. Match fixing allegations, Betting, Spot Fixing etc. It was a similar kind of scandal that struck Indian cricket almost 13 years ago, after which an ambitiousSourav Gangulytook charge.There are many other prominent similarities between the Dhoni style of captaincy and Gangulys. Fighting to have a team of his choice, backing his youngsters, putting immense trust in their abilities and not thinking twice in letting a player know if he's not in the scheme of things are aspects that allowed Ganguly to build Team India into quite a force. Dhoni has been trailing a similar path for the past couple of years.There are many controversies surrounding Dhoni's Captaincy like getting rid of players who are not good in the outfield or ignoring those players with ego issues but those theories were also floating during Ganguly's captaincy period.These two Indian captains have proved once again that it is perhaps cricketing success alone - for a cricket-starved nation like that matters.Those who've followed Indian cricket closely in the last 13 years may know how Ganguly - enigmatic during his peak - was revered by his team and followers because of the manner in which he led.It's the kind of conundrum, bigger in proportions because of the success rate in winning trophies, which surrounds Dhoni at the moment.It can be tough for any cricketer who is low on technique to leave any kind of impact in any traditional cricketing nation. Cricket crowds in the UK and Australia - used to the charm of aSachin Tendulkaror a Rahul Dravid or even a Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden etc - aren't easily pleased with the sight of a batsman who can't play 'by the book' or by conventional standards. Ganguly, despite his share of weaknesses, made batting look good. Dhoni, whose style of batting is quite way out of the "book" (Helicopter Shot anyone??), has still been effective. These captains - for their mindset and success-rate alone have earned respect from their critics. Not dissimilar to Ganguly, even Dhoni has left his ardent critics with no choice but to admire him.No doubt Ganguly built a team of Champions, But even the team that Dhoni has built has the capability, abilityand potential to reach heights of cricketing glory.