Ganguly back in Test team
November 30, 2006 13:22 IST
Last Updated: November 30, 2006 19:37 IST
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Sourav Ganguly¬†is back in the Indian Test team after ten months. The former India captain returns for the three-match series against South Africa, beginning December 15.
The selectors, who met in Delhi on Thursday, dropped Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina, who are in the team for the ongoing limited-overs' series, and stripped Virender Sehwag from vice-captaincy. Stylish Hyderabad batsman VVS Laxman has been named Rahul Dravid's deputy.
Zaheer Khan was also rewarded for a good showing in the one-day internationals with a Test berth.
The decision to recall Ganguly comes following a meeting of the selectors and Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sharad Pawar at the latter's residence in Delhi prior to the selection committee meeting.
The Bengal left-hander, who has had reasonable success in domestic matches this season, was expected to make the cut after the team's poor showing in the one-day international series, which it trails 0-3. He was included in place of the injured Yuvraj Singh.
Team: Rahul Dravid (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), VVS Laxman (vice-captain), Dinesh Kaarthick, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth.
Statistics:
Batsman Tests Inns NO Runs Hs Ave 100s 50s 0s 90s Ct St MS Dhoni 13 20 1 602 148 31.68 1 3 0 0 38 9 R Dravid 104 176 22 9049 270 58.76 23 46 6 9 146 0 G Gambhir 13 21 2 684 139 36.00 1 3 1 2 12 0 S Ganguly 88 140 12 5221 173 40.79 12 25 8 3 59 0 Harbhajan Singh 57 79 18 986 66 16.16 0 2 11 0 30 0 W Jaffer 14 26 0 883 212 33.96 2 6 2 0 15 0 D Karthik 10 13 0 245 93 18.85 0 1 0 1 29 4 A Kumble 110 140 27 2025 88 17.92 0 4 13 0 50 0 VVS Laxman 77 124 14 4698 281 42.71 10 25 9 2 81 0 MM Patel 6 7 2 32 13 6.40 0 0 2 0 3 0 I Pathan 25 32 2 835 93 27.83 0 6 4 2 8 0 V Sehwag 49 81 3 4066 309 52.13 12 12 8 1 38 0 VRV Singh 2 1 0 2 2 2.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 S Sreesanth 5 7 3 75 29 18.75 0 0 2 0 1 0 S Tendulkar 132 211 22 10469 248 55.39 35 41 12 6 82 0 Zaheer Khan 42 54 14 507 75 12.68 0 1 15 0 10 0
Bowler Tests Ovs Mdns Runs Wkts Best 5WI 10WM Avg SR Eco MS Dhoni 13 1 0 13 0 0-13 0 0 - - 13.00 R Dravid 104 20 4 39 1 1-18 0 0 39.00 120.00 1.95 S Ganguly 88 419.2 84 1419 26 3-28 0 0 54.58 96.77 3.38 Harbhajan Singh 57 2526.6 521 7108 238 8-84 19 4 29.87 63.71 2.81 W Jaffer 14 11 3 18 2 2-18 0 0 9.00 33.00 1.64 A Kumble 110 5815.2 1414 15329 533 10-74 33 8 28.76 65.46 2.64 VVS Laxman 77 42 10 100 1 1-32 0 0 100.00 252.00 2.38 M Patel 6 229 49 680 24 4-25 0 0 28.33 57.25 2.97 I Pathan 25 846.2 185 2802 91 7-59 7 2 30.79 55.80 3.31 V Sehwag 49 198.4 33 628 12 3-33 0 0 52.33 99.33 3.16 VRV Singh 2 47 7 158 2 2-61 0 0 79.00 141.00 3.36 S Sreesanth S 5 169.5 41 566 19 4-70 0 0 29.79 53.63 3.33 S Tendulkar 132 555 75 1893 37 3-10 0 0 51.16 90.00 3.41 Zaheer Khan 42 1326.5 266 4398 121 5-29 3 0 36.35 65.79 3.31
Note: Out of the 16 players named in the Indian Test squad, only 12 have played at least one Test against South Africa. Four players -- Dhoni, Munaf, V R V Singh and Sreesanth are yet to play against South Africa.
Only¬†eight players have played a Test on South African soil before. Apart from the four mentioned above, Gambhir,Jaffer, Dinesh Karthik and Irfan Pathan are yet to make a Test appearance on South African soil.
Statistics: Rajneesh Gupta
The ex-Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly has made a comeback in the Test team after he was unceremoniously dropped for ten months.

Ganguly is expected to play the first test match of the series against South Africa commencing on December 15.

Chairman of selection pane for the Indian team Dilip Vengsarkar said that the team batting had failed in one-dayers in the current series, so there is need to bring back experienced players.

VVS Laxman has been appointed as vice-captain of the test team.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar cleared the air over Greg Chappell-MP dispute by saying that "What happened in Parliament should have no bearing on the incidents taking place in Protea land,".

Ganguly last played for the team against Pakistan in a test match in Karachi earlier this year.

The sixteen member-team is as follows:

Rahul Dravid (Captain), VVS Laxman (Vice-captain), Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicketkeeper), Dinesh Kaarthick, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan and S. Sreesanth.