MUMBAI, May 18: Former India captain Saurav Ganguly will join English county Northamptonshire next month as a temporary replacement for Australian batsman Chris Rogers.

“I just want to go out there and play cricket,” Ganguly said on Thursday.

Frozen out of the national side in February, the 33-year-old Ganguly is due to arrive in Britain on June 15 ahead of his five-week stint in English county cricket. Northamptonshire had shown considerable interest in the left-handed batsmen to stand in for overseas player Rogers, who has been called up for Australia A duty from June 26 to July 29.

“Ganguly is our first choice replacement,” Northamptonshire's chief executive Mark Tagg was quoted as saying on the club's Web site. A player of his stature and experience would be a great asset to the club, particularly during the Twenty20 Cup (played though June).”

This will be Ganguly's third stint in county cricket after spells at Lancashire in 2000 and Glamorgan last season.

The country's most successful test captain, Ganguly was sacked as skipper, replaced by Rahul Dravid, and dropped last October after a row with coach Greg Chappell.

Indian selectors effectively ended Ganguly's international career earlier this year when they opted for youth in the squad during the home series against England.

Ganguly scored 5,221 runs in 88 Tests and led the side to a record 21 victories as test captain before lost form and injury problems cost him a place in the team. He tallied 10,123 runs in 279 one-day internationals.—Reuters