Speculation mounts over Ganguly's fitness

Sourav Ganguly's fitness has been a talking point ever since he was stretchered off the field during the final one-dayer at Lahore. Ratnakar Shetty, the manager of the Indian team, said today, "there is good news. An MRI scan was done yesterday and it showed that there was no back injury. Sourav [Ganguly] only suffered from muscle pain." However, it was not possible to say to say whether Ganguly would be fit enough to take the field on Saturday, when the first Test begins.

Ganguly, who arrived in Multan from Lahore on Friday morning, had undergone physiotherapy sessions with Andrew Leipus, and his injury was not thought to be serious. He has to undergo two more sessions in the lead-up to the first Test.

When asked whether Ganguly would be in a position to play the first Test, Shetty said, "It's too early to say anything now. He needs rest. We will have a clearer picture only by tomorrow evening or on the morning of the match."

However, word on the ground is that while Ganguly's injury is not serious, it might prevent him from being fully fit in time for the first Test. It is learnt that Ganguly has a slight disc problem, and is still in considerable pain. Ganguly found sitting down a painful experience for most of Thursday, and has indicated that it is unlikely that he will be in a position to play in the first Test, in which case Yuvraj Singh will get to play his second Test match in almost identical circumstances to those in which he made his debut in Mohali last October.

On that occasion Ganguly had minor surgery to remove an abscess on his upper left thigh, and pulled out on the eve of the match. This gave Yuvraj his Test debut at his home ground. That was also the only instance when Rahul Dravid led India in a Test match.

"Obviously, if you are missing your captain, then you will find things a bit different," said Haroon Rashid, the Pakistan manager. "We are well aware that Sourav is a very influential member of the Indian team. He has done very well as a captain, and has the backing of the entire team. I guess Rahul will do a good job as captain, but there will be pressure on the Indians because they will miss a very key player if Sourav doesn't play here."

Interestingly enough, Ganguly needs just one more Test victory to become the most successful Indian Test captain ever. India's famous win in Adelaide last December tied him with Mohammad Azharuddin as the winningest Indian Test captain - they both have 14 wins apiece. Ganguly is also India's most successful leader overseas with Test wins in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and Australia under his belt.

Ganguly's injury appeared to be very serious when he had to be carried off the field. He was attempting to stop a drive at mid-off, off the bat of Inzamam-ul- Haq. When he dived, Ganguly fell awkwardly, hitting the ground sideways and rolling over. Yet, when the game was won Ganguly walked out onto the field to celebrate with the rest of the team.