Goodbye Ganguly as India selectors vote for youth

CRICKET: India's selectors turned the page on Saurav Ganguly's international career on Thursday when they banked on youth for the first test against England, with an eye on next year's World Cup and beyond.

The panel dropped the former captain and focussed on up-and-coming batsmen and bowlers for the home series which starts on Mar. 1 in Nagpur.

India's formidable middle-order led by Sachin Tendulkar had remained untouched for a decade and the removal of Ganguly, seen as the weakest link, could trigger wide-reaching change.

The left-handed batsman, with 5,221 runs in 88 tests and a record 21 victories as India captain, had been under pressure due to poor batting form and fitness.

Ganguly was sacked both as captain and one-day player in October during a damaging row with coach Greg Chappell and was replaced by Rahul Dravid.

Chief selector Kiran More made it clear India must invest in youth, a policy based on recent one-day performances including this month's 4-1 defeat of Pakistan.

"We are looking to the future," he said. "The test team also is going to be more or less like the one-day team."

The five-man panel introduced change from top to bottom.

In-form Mumbai opening batsman Wasim Jaffer looks set to partner Virender Sehwag, having played the last of his seven tests four years ago.

One-day batsmen Mohammad Kaif and his Uttar Pradesh teammate Suresh Raina, also superb fielders, can grab a middle-order berth in the absence of the injured Yuvraj Singh.

The selectors showed they had lost patience with pacemen Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar after they struggled in Pakistan by including S.Sreesanth and uncapped Vikram Rajvir Singh.

Sreesanth was the pick of the pacemen during the one-day series in Pakistan while Singh is regarded as the fastest Indian bowler.

Chappell's stamp

The selections also bore the stamp of Chappell.

The former Australian captain has backed the young bloods since taking over in September and has insisted on teamwork. "Chappell wants this and the captain too," said More.

The choice of 17-year-old leggie Piyush Chawla exemplified the thinking of the selectors. He is now the understudy to Anil Kumble, 35, who is into his 15th year in international cricket. Chawla made headlines last year by removing Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Dhoni in a domestic one-day tournament.

He was key to Uttar Pradesh claiming their maiden Ranji Trophy recently and then grabbed four for eight in the under-19 World Cup final defeat against Pakistan.

Former India wicketkeeper More said there was no room for sentiment on Ganguly.

"It is a tough call. Every cricketer goes through this," he said. "I have also gone through this."

"Whether you play one test match or 100 test matches, it doesn't matter. You give 100 percent to India. "We discuss all 15 players, not just one player. We're selecting the India team, not a school team."

NEW DELHI, Friday, Reuters