Appeals commissioner for Ganguly case named

Sourav Ganguly could yet play in the first Test against South Africa, subject to the decision of Tim Castle, the Appeals Commissioner © Getty Images Enlarge

The ICC have confirmed the appointment of the Appeals Commissioner who will hear Sourav Ganguly's case. Tim Castle, a New Zealand barrister, has been named in the role.

Ganguly, the Indian captain, was suspended for two Tests by the ICC match referee Clive Lloyd for his team's slow over-rate during Saturday's one-day international against Pakistan, which breached one of the ICC Codes of Conduct. As this was Ganguly's second such trangression of the year, he was handed an automatic ban and he will miss both Tests against South Africa if the punishment is upheld.

Castle, meanwhile, has over 30 years' experience in the areas of litigation, representative sport, national and international sports administration and management. He will have up to seven days to review a video of the match, Lloyd's reasons for banning Ganguly, and also Ganguly's grounds of appeal.

If the decision on the appeal does take a week, Ganguly would be eligible for the first Test at Kanpur. But theoretically, a decision to uphold the suspension could be taken a day before the Test, which would leave Rahul Dravid with some last-minute reshuffling.