Sourav Ganguly is eligible to play in the remaining two one-day matches against Pakistan pending resolution of his appeal against the six-match suspension by the ICC but the out-of-form Indian cricket captain will not feature in the fifth match in Kanpur on Friday.
The Cricket Board decided to leave out Ganguly from the squad for the crucial tie as there was not enough time, ending the suspense on whether the skipper would be included in the team after he was permitted to play by the ICC following a formal appeal against the ban.
There will be no change in the team already selected with Rahul Dravid as captain for the Kanpur ODI as there was less than 24 hours for the match to start, BBCI secretary S K Nair said in a release in Thiruvananthapuram.
"Since less than 24 hours remains for the start of the Kanpur match, the Board felt that it was extremely important for the players to concentrate and focus on the match, so that they could bring out the best performance. In view of this, the Board has decided to continue with the selected team", Nair said.
Nair said the position had been explained to Ganguly and he had appreciated the Board's decision.
{{/usCountry}}Nair said the position had been explained to Ganguly and he had appreciated the Board's decision.
{{/usCountry}}The BCCI, however, did not specify whether Ganguly would take part in the last match of the series to be held at the Ferozeshah Kotla in New Delhi on Sunday.
The ICC, which received the formal appeal from Ganguly, late last night, said any cricketer could continue to play international matches till the resolution of the appeal.
"Mr Ganguly is permitted to play pending the resolution of any appeal," ICC said in a statement in London which also confirmed to have received an appeal from Ganguly against the suspension imposed by Match Referee Chris Broad.