Ganguly dumped for now

It was good to see that the selectors retained the same team for the next three ODIs. There was really no need to bring Ganguly back in a hurry. The decision to not recall Ganguly does however imply that Greg Chappell has a strong hold over the team, the selection and the overall process. So chances of Ganguly returning in the near term for ODIs is looking pretty bleak at this point.

Kiran More (selection committee chairman) said, “We have enough options at the moment and are looking to have a pool of 22 players from whom we can pick the final World Cup squad.” (Chappell had said earlier that he had identified about 18 players to represent India, I can’t recall the exact interview). Notice that Chappell issued a statement prior to the first ODI that Sreesanth would open the bowling and he sure did. This is quite in contrast to his earlier statements that the “captain is the boss” once the match starts. Its just a sign of Chappell’s growing influence and control.

There is a clear sign of change. So far its working well (thanks to the return of Sachin of course) and hopefully it will continue.

p.s: Coach Greg Chappell, captain Rahul Dravid and physio John Gloster attended the selection meeting.