Cricket story by Fred Smith, Sun, 25 Dec 2005 16:04:00 GMT


MUMBAI, India - The Indian selectors recalled deposed captain Sourav Ganguly into the Indian test squad for the Pakistan series scheduled to begin in the New Year. The decision comes barely 10 days after he was dropped for the Ahmedabad test against Sri Lanka. India won that series 2-0.

The 33-year-old Ganguly has had a nightmarish last couple of months after being sacked as the captain. That incident came about after a blazing row with Coach Greg Chappell. He was subsequently dropped form the one-day team, but was included in the first two tests before being dropped from the last one.

That move triggered a huge outcry and it was a foregone conclusion that he would be included in the team. Seamer Zaheer Khan also forced his way back into the team after a string of impressive domestic performances. Parthiv Patel has been included as a second wicketkeeper. National Selection Committee Chairman Kiran More was bombarded with question from scribes to describe what was the thought behind axing Ganguly and then getting him back into the team.

More said that there were some plans that he did not want to reveal at the moment, “There was a long discussion on middle order batting and we thought that this is the best team we can pick for Pakistan,” he said.

"We have some plans. We can't open out everything about which players are to be tried out in the current series and in the next series. We can't allow the opposition to know these plans." The selectors have been under the hammer for dropping Ganguly and it came as no surprise that More was on the back foot. Mohammed Kaif has been dropped, while Murali Kartik also finds himself out of the team. Gautam Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer retain their spots in the team.

India is scheduled to play three tests in Pakistan beginning on January 14 in Lahore.

Indian Squad:
Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag (vice-captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman, R P Singh, Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Parthiv Patel.

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