JOHANNESBURG, Dec 2: Sourav Ganguly will have a hot reception on arrival in South Africa, captain Graeme Smith promised on Saturday. "He has got a lot of runs here and we have a huge respect for him. But it's not a worry and we would be ready for him," remarked Smith after the Twenty20 game here.
Ganguly has been recalled into the Test squad after being ignored for the last 10 months.
The 33-year old former captain went out of favour ever since he had a public spat with coach Greg Chappell on the tour of Zimbabwe last year.
Smith recalled the turmoil he was witness to in India when the Chappell-Ganguly spat was at its peak and effigies of the former Australian captain were burnt on the streets of Kolkata.
"It will be interesting how he fits into the team but obviously they have fallen back on experience by selecting Laxman and Ganguly. We were expecting so all along," remarked Smith.
Smith also promised that the Indians wouldn't have it easy in the last one-day international even though his side has taken a winning 3-0 lead.
"We have done well despite having a poor start in all of our matches. We never really had a good foundation. Imagine what we could have managed if our foundation was solid. We intend to set it right in the last game."
The final one-day match will be played in Centurion, Pretoria, on Sunday.
Meanwhile, after his selection for the Test team on Thursday, there was more good news for Ganguly when chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said that he was very much in his World Cup plans.
"Well, it depends actually. One can't really say anything about that on that account. Sourav is an experienced player. He has played in South Africa before, and he knows the conditions really well. So, he will perform well," Vengsarkar said, showing enough confidence on the former India captain.—Agencies