The Ganguly Dilemma

As I write this, Ganguly has been selected to play as opener for
the first Test (at the expense of Jaffer and Gambhir)!

Frankly, if Ganguly had to play, opening was the ONLY place he
could have played, especially given Gambhir's indifferent form.
Jaffer could have been a risk. So, if Ganguly had to play, this
was the best position, especially if it is a seaming wicket.
Ganguly could also bowl a few overs as 1st change. Who knows?
He may even pick up a wicket or two. A worse scenario would
have been if he was chosen ahead of Yuvraj!!

The current compromise is one which could backfire though! For
example, how many overs before he runs out a rampaging Sehwag?

So this is possibly the best scenario. He could open and see
some shine off the ball with a few streaky edges -- one of
which will end up in a slippers' hand! If he flops as opener,
he can quietly announce his retirement and fade away with
dignity.

The nightmare scenario for India is if he scores a lucky 100!