Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said on Tuesday that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the upcoming four-Test Series
Sourav Ganguly gestures during the fourth day of the third Test match against Pakistan in Bangalore.
More Picturest series against Australia. I have decided to quit and told my teammates about it. Australia series will be my last series,” said Ganguly. Chairman of selectors K Srikkanth said Ganguly had made the right decision. “Ganguly wanted to play with a free mind and now he can,” said Srikkanth. Player Profile: Saurav Ganguly India’s most successful captain dismissed suggestions that his inclusion in India's 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Australia was part of a compromise formula to give him the opportunity to retire gracefully. Asked specifically if the selectors had made a compromise with his selection in the team, Ganguly quipped 'absolutely not'.
Matches Runs Ave S.R 100 50 ct
ODIs 311 11363 41.02 73.71 22 72 100
TEST 109 6861 41.84 52.38 15 34 71
Ganguly's floundering Test career received a big boost when the newly-appointed selection panel headed by Krishnamachari Srikkanth named him in the squad for the first two Tests against Australia beginning October 9. The former captain reckoned the series against the Australians will be tough and said he was prepared for the challenge. "It will be a tough series. We will have to fight it hard", he said at the Eden Gardens. Ganguly's career was at crossroads after he was ignored by the previous selection panel, with Dilip Vengsarkar at the helm, for the season-opening Irani Cup tie, touted as a virtual selection trial, at Vadodara late last month. However, a change of guard with the complete overhaul of the selection panel saw the return of Ganguly and he seems certain to play the series opener at Bangalore barring injury. The former Indian captain also met Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Jagmohan Dalmiya during the day. It was his first meeting with Dalmiya since he was re-elected to the post. Skipper Kumble over retirement issue Test skipper Anil Kumble had rubbished reports that the Indian cricket board had drawn up a retirement plan for senior players. "We have never discussed that among ourselves. All the talk is only in the media," Kumble said. Justifying the selection of former captain Sourav Ganguly for the upcoming series against Australia, Kumble said the senior players have never performed badly and it was only the media that was casting doubts on their performance after one bad series in Sri Lanka. Kumble said there should have been no debate over Ganguly's inclusion since he was part of the Test team. "He was a part of the last Test series as well. I don't see a change. Age does not matter at all as long as a player is doing well, otherwise I would have retired long ago." "I can't divulge what happened in the selection meeting, but I don't see any change: he was a part of the last Test team, he is a part of this series as well," Kumble contended. Shane Warne’s take on Ganguly Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne describes Sourav Ganguly as "an intelligent bloke, with some interesting ideas on all sorts of subjects" in his self-written book and pays tribute to Sourav's batting, fighting qualities and self-confidence. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, is among 11 Indians named by Warne in his list of 100 greatest cricketers. The list of greats, which forms a new book called "Shane Warne's Century", is headed by Sachin Tendulkar and includes all members of the famed Indian batting quartet dubbed the Fab Four - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
India Times
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