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India turns to Dada for rescue job in South Africa
New Delhi: Discarded former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been recalled in the national side to play the three-match Test series for the tour to South Africa on Thursday.
The selection committee announced the 16-member team for the Test series after a meeting at the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) office at Frezoeshah Kotla Stadium.
VVS Laxman has been made the vice-captain of the side, replacing the out of form Virender Sehwag who managed to retain his place in the team by the scrape of the neck.
Ajit Agarkar was dropped from the Test side after a patchy performance for some time in both Tests and One-Dayers. Irfan Pathan, however, managed to hang in the 16 while Zaheer Khan also made a comeback in the longer version of the game.
On Thursday, BCCI President Sharad Pawar met the selection panel chaired by Dilip Vengsarkar to seek answers, if any, for the repeated agonies hours before the team selection takes place for the three-match Test series.
Pawar apparently cleared the air over the unexpected furore created by the Greg Chappell-MP spat. Pawar What happened in Parliament should have no bearing on the incidents taking place in Protea land, he is expected to have said.
Asked about team's dismal performace in South Africa, chairman of the selection committeee Dilip Vengsarkar said, "We had only one game to adjust to the situations. Had there been more matches, we would have certainly done well."
He also ruled out suggestions that the experienced players in Team India had not performed. "I won't say that they have done extremely well, but I would surely say that they have done a reasonably good job."
Uncapped Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath was overlooked, but Vengsarkar maintained that he will get his due recognition with time. His teammate Yo Mahesh was also made to sit out instead of Punjab paceman VRV Singh, who has played in the One-Dayers.
Suresh Raina was not included in the Test side, while Gautam Gambhir earned a deserved call-up after a string of good performances in domestic cricket. Akash Chopra narrowly missed out for the third opener?s slot. Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia are also dropped.
"Raina is not out of the team yet. He will surely play for the ODIs. This team is only for the Test series," Vengsarkar said, explaining that Sehwag has not been stripped off his vice captaincy permanently.
Ganguly was dropped from the Indian side of both forms of the game after a highly publicised spat with coach Greg Chappell, the axe falling 10 months ago after the tour of Pakistan. Sourav?s record in South Africa from two Test tours earlier has not exactly been anything to write home about, with a modest 292 runs at an average of 32.44 from five Tests, including two 50s.
With VVS Laxman made vice-captain of the team, Team India could be in a spot of bother if Rahul Dravid does not recover in time for the first Test against the Proteas.
Squad: Dravid (captain), VVS Laxman (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Munaf Patel, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth.
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New Delhi: Discarded former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has been recalled in the national side to play the three-match Test series for the tour to South Africa on Thursday.
The selection committee announced the 16-member team for the Test series after a meeting at the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) office at Frezoeshah Kotla Stadium.
VVS Laxman has been made the vice-captain of the side, replacing the out of form Virender Sehwag who managed to retain his place in the team by the scrape of the neck.
Ajit Agarkar was dropped from the Test side after a patchy performance for some time in both Tests and One-Dayers. Irfan Pathan, however, managed to hang in the 16 while Zaheer Khan also made a comeback in the longer version of the game.
On Thursday, BCCI President Sharad Pawar met the selection panel chaired by Dilip Vengsarkar to seek answers, if any, for the repeated agonies hours before the team selection takes place for the three-match Test series.
Pawar apparently cleared the air over the unexpected furore created by the Greg Chappell-MP spat. Pawar What happened in Parliament should have no bearing on the incidents taking place in Protea land, he is expected to have said.
Asked about team's dismal performace in South Africa, chairman of the selection committeee Dilip Vengsarkar said, "We had only one game to adjust to the situations. Had there been more matches, we would have certainly done well."
He also ruled out suggestions that the experienced players in Team India had not performed. "I won't say that they have done extremely well, but I would surely say that they have done a reasonably good job."
Uncapped Tamil Nadu batsman S Badrinath was overlooked, but Vengsarkar maintained that he will get his due recognition with time. His teammate Yo Mahesh was also made to sit out instead of Punjab paceman VRV Singh, who has played in the One-Dayers.
Suresh Raina was not included in the Test side, while Gautam Gambhir earned a deserved call-up after a string of good performances in domestic cricket. Akash Chopra narrowly missed out for the third opener?s slot. Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia are also dropped.
"Raina is not out of the team yet. He will surely play for the ODIs. This team is only for the Test series," Vengsarkar said, explaining that Sehwag has not been stripped off his vice captaincy permanently.
Ganguly was dropped from the Indian side of both forms of the game after a highly publicised spat with coach Greg Chappell, the axe falling 10 months ago after the tour of Pakistan. Sourav?s record in South Africa from two Test tours earlier has not exactly been anything to write home about, with a modest 292 runs at an average of 32.44 from five Tests, including two 50s.
With VVS Laxman made vice-captain of the team, Team India could be in a spot of bother if Rahul Dravid does not recover in time for the first Test against the Proteas.
Squad: Dravid (captain), VVS Laxman (vice-captain), Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Munaf Patel, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth.
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