I am not bad tempered at all, says Ganguly

Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday defended the omission of opener Amay Khurasia from the playing eleven in the recent triangular series in Colombo saying as a captain he is responsible for the team's defeat.

"I won't just take any body and go and lose the game," Ganguly said, in an interview with 'Star News'.

"The selectors have four years of contracts. The coach has a threeyear contract and the physio also has a three-year contract. But the captain is chosen each year on the basis of the number of wins and defeats," Ganguly reasoned.

"I don't know why people are making an issue of this. I am the captain and I am responsible for the team's performance. If the team loses, then the person who will get the stick is me," he asserted.

On his temper which had recently incurred the wrath of the match referee, the Indian captain said: "I am not bad tempered at all. May be, I get involved a bit. As a captain, you want to lead a winning side."

He also cited instances of aggressive behaviour in other Test-playing countries saying: "If you look around there have been a bit of aggressive cricket going on and there have been a few suspensions in the last few months."

On mounting criticism of the team's lack of success under him after defeating Australia at home, Ganguly said the criticism is not fair.

"From the time I've taken charge, we are missing main players with injuries. Anil Kumble, Sachin and Laxman and now Srinath was on and off," Ganguly said.