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| September 04, 2006 | Monday | Sha'aban 10, 1427 |
Kumble, Ganguly left out for Champions Trophy
MUMBAI, Sept 3: India's injured leg-spinner Anil Kumble and sacked former captain Saurav Ganguly have been left out of the 14-man squad named on Sunday by the hosts for the ICC Champions Trophy.
India's selectors have kept faith with 14 of the 15 players chosen for last month's one-day series in Sri Lanka, which was washed out, for the Champions Trophy from Oct 7 to Nov 5.
Young paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is the player to miss out, though he is retained for a one-day tri-series in Malaysia featuring Australia and West Indies starting on Sept 12.
The 35-year-old Kumble, India's most successful bowler, has tendonitis in his bowling shoulder which forced him to end his stint with English county Surrey last month.
The selectors also left out Ganguly, the 34-year-old batsman who had nursed hopes of one final comeback after being named in a 30-man provisional squad for the Trophy event.
India's most successful Test captain was sacked from the job and as one-day player last October following a prolonged slump in batting form and a damaging row with coach Greg Chappell.
Ganguly was then axed from Test cricket following a series defeat against Pakistan in February.
Test batsman Vangipurappu Laxman and left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan, discarded after the Pakistan series because of poor form, fitness and attitude, also failed to make the Trophy squad.
Chief selector Kiran More told reporters they had played it safe on Kumble although team physio John Gloster had reported that the spinner would be fit for the eight-team event.
“We were not sure. What if he breaks down?” he said. “Anil is an experienced cricketer and we can always get him back.”
Kumble, a key member of the Test side but ignored for one-day cricket for over a year, is keen to make a final comeback for the March-April World Cup in West Indies.
More said Kumble would get his chance with India scheduled to tour South Africa and host one-day series against West Indies and Sri Lanka before the World Cup.
However, no other player was discussed by the selectors,
dashing the hopes of Ganguly, whose future had been debated in cricket-mad India since his
inclusion in the provisional squad.
Squads:
Champions Trophy: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Mongia, Rudra Pratap Singh.
Malaysia tri-series: Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Ajit Agarkar, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar, Dinesh Mongia, Rudra Pratap Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.—Reuters
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