Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai, Sept 08: India Test skipper Anil Kumble on Monday said that the omission of Sourav Ganguly from the Irani Trophy will not make any difference on the performance of the team. The selectors reportedly approached Team India’s coach Gary Kirsten and Kumble on the eve of the selection committee meeting in Mumbai. Sources claimed that both Kumble and Kirsten were of the view that they were disappointed with Ganguly’s recent performances and his exclusion will not be opposed.
Earlier in the day, BCCI announced the squad for the elite Irani Trophy competition on Monday. In a surprising move, Sourav Ganguly was not named in the Rest of India squad for the September 24-28 Irani Cup tie against Ranji Trophy champions Delhi at Vadodara, a sign that hints at his possible exclusion from the side that will play in the upcoming series against Australia.
Ganguly had a poor Test series in Sri Lanka along with the other three senior batsmen -- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman.
Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman were, however, included in the 14-man team to be led by Anil Kumble.
The outgoing Dilip Vengsarkar-led five-member committee provided a fresh lease of life to the stuttering career of Mohammed Kaif by including him for the season-opening clash touted as a virtual selection trial for the upcoming Test series against the mighty Australian squad.
A surprise inclusion was Bengal medium pacer Ashok Dinda who was impressive in the May-June Indian Premier League while Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer was also given another chance to resurrect his stop-start career, which seemed to be going downhill from the tour of Australia.
The selectors also named the India `A` squad, to be led by S Badrinath, for the triangular series against Australia `A` and New Zealand `A` from September 15-26 in Chennai and Hyderabad.
Team: Anil Kumble (Captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffar, M S Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Mohammed Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, R P Singh, Parthiv Patel, Ashok Dinda.
