Ganguly picked for first two Tests

According to an insider at the first meeting of the new selection committee, the decision to include Sourav Ganguly in the 15-member Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia was ‘not unanimous’ by any means. There was a lot of verbal conflict, reports A Mukhopadhyay. See the gladiators.

There was just one question in the lead-up to the new selection committee's first meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday. Will he, won't he? Finally, against the odds and despite his own reported misgivings on the issue, Sourav Ganguly did make it to the 15-member Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia.

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But, according to an insider at the meeting, the decision was ‘not unanimous’ by any means. “There was a lot of verbal conflict,” a source told the Hindustan Times, on condition of anonymity. See the gladiators.

"Some selectors did speak initially against the inclusion of Ganguly, but fortunately for him, the coach or captain didn't say anything negative about him, or anything either way. There was also talk of blooding youngsters, which was stalled by the argument that this (a series against the world champions) was not the series to experiment."

Another view apparently was that none of the possible replacements had done "anything to merit selection for a series such as this". Ganguly's form (or lack of it) in Sri Lanka came up for discussion but this was countered by the argument that none of the seniors did well there. Interestingly, it was also pointed out that even skipper Anil Kumble was "not in the pink of form". Against this backdrop, it was felt that Ganguly could not be omitted because of a perceived lack of form.

There were several heated arguments and lots of debating, said another source. But in the end, there was no voting. "The selectors chose to thrash out their differences instead of voting," he said, though it is believed that four of the five selectors were in favour of keeping him on.

Meanwhile, a BCCI source said there was no sense to the rumours that players were being offered "golden handshakes" or being asked to choose the time of their retirement. "What on earth is that when it comes to cricket? What value are you expecting we put for what service?" he asked. "If a player is in form, he'll be chosen. If he's not, even if he's someone like Yuvraj Singh for instance, he won't be chosen. The way it's been, Indian cricket just kicks out people who aren't in form".

Senior Indian players spoken to were incensed at the idea. "Utter rubbish," one of them told HT. "I haven't been offered a deal of any sort. If I'm in form, I'll be picked. Otherwise, I suppose I'll be dropped if there's a replacement available."

Another asked why anyone thought they needed "deals or schemes". "If something's on the cards, then I haven't been told. This age issue, the so called senior vs junior business is irritating. If a youngster is good enough, he'll earn his spot and displace me. If one of us (seniors) scores two hundreds now, what sense in dropping him?"

The rumours though, raged on through Wednesday. What happens over the next few months will make things clearer.

Ganguly denies claims of a ‘respectful exit’

Sourav Ganguly has rubbished claims that the selectors are giving senior players an opportunity to retire respectfully. "I don't think so," Ganguly told reporters when asked whether this was the case. He met Cricket Association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya on Wednesday, which was significant given his stand against the former BCCI chief.