It's official. Sourav Ganguly is back in the Indian Test team after being dumped two weeks earlier in favour of youth.
Only 14 days back the Indian selection committee had decided to omit the left-hander for the third Test against Sri Lanka, in Ahmedabad, saying he doesn't fit into the team.
'The situation is that I don't want Ganguly at number six. We want Yuvraj to play there. He has done well, and we don't want to have Sourav in the team and put him in the reserve,' chairman of selectors Kiran More told reporters after the selection committee meeting in New Delhi on December 10.
But today, the same group of selectors decided to reinstate the former India captain, saying his experience would serve the team in Pakistan.
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According to a selector, present at Saturday's selection committee meeting in Mumbai, the decision to include Ganguly for the Pakistan tour was not made by the selectors, but the administrators of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The five selectors, along with BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell, decided on the Test team. Ganguly received just four votes out of seven, but even then he made it to the team, because the BCCI felt that the left-hander's experience would be vital in Pakistan, said the selector.
Chappell, it is learnt, seemed quite upset with the decision, as were a couple of selectors, but they had no say in the matter.
Not surprisingly. After the meeting, More was bombarded with questions.
On what basis was Ganguly included in the team?
"Ganguly has a lot of experience, he has scored a lot of runs in international cricket. He has the experience we need for a tough tour like Pakistan," More said.
But why was he dropped after the second Test? Wasn't the same criteria applicable when he was axed for the third Test against Sri Lanka?
"We have some plans for the team; you don't need to know everything about it," a clueless More replied.
It is also learnt that Sachin Tendulkar had backed Ganguly during his meeting with BCCI president Sharad Pawar on Friday. Tendulkar is believed to have told Pawar that the Bengal left-hander deserves a better deal and another chance to prove himself.
Also shocking was the decision to include Parthiv Patel in the Test team for Pakistan.
The 20-year-old last played a Test against Australia in October 2004, after which he was dropped for sloppy wicket-keeping that kept getting worse with every outing.
However, a good season in domestic cricket and the Gujarat wicketkeeper made it back to the Test team at the expense of Dinesh Kaarthick, who was India's top Test wicketkeeper until the emergence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Maybe, the selectors felt they need backup incase Dhoni gets injured on the morning of the match.
Whichever way one sees it, Parthiv was rewarded for a good showing in the domestic season and on his performance on India's last tour to Pakistan.
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