Ganguly to ask Srinath to reconsider his decision to quit

Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, who arrived from the West Indies along with his teammates in the early hours of Wednesday, said he would talk to speedster Javagal Srinath and persuade him to reconsider his decision to retire from Test cricket.

Talking to reporters after the team's arrival, Ganguly said, "Srinath is our best bowler who can guide the youngsters and I will speak to him as early as I can and ask him to reconsider his decision."

Speaking about the team's performance in the Caribbean where the Indians lost the Test series 1-2, but came back strongly to win the one-day series 2-1 after the first two ties were washed out, Ganguly said, "It is a young side and we have some very talented youngsters. I think it will take them a little time to form a winning unit."

"It was disappointing to lose the Test series, but I think we did pretty well to win the one-dayers and I am happy with the way the young bowlers have performed on this tour," the southpaw added.

When asked about sending in batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar at number four position, he said, "We need an experienced batsman in the middle and Sachin, who is the best batsman in the world, would be an ideal choice as he proved in the fifth one-dayer with a fine knock."

When asked how bad was Tendulkar's shoulder injury, Ganguly said, "With a few days rest it should be alright and I am sure he will be fully fit for the forthcoming England tour."

Mail Cricket Editor