Under-fire Ganguly chooses practice over ICC meet

Sourav Ganguly: under pressure to deliver with the bat © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly is unlikely to attend a meeting of Test captains, called by the ICC in Australia next month, so that he can concentrate on his batting and will take part in the Challenger Trophy, India's premier domestic one-day tournament, starting on October 10.

The meeting in Sydney on October 12 is likely to be attended by representatives from all ten Test-playing nations but Ganguly decided to skip it owing to the Challenger tournament. The tournament would feature the top 36 players in the country, divided into three teams, and will be an ideal platform for selection into the Indian side for the seven-match one-day series against Sri Lanka, starting on October 25.

A board official told AFP: "Ganguly has already made it clear he wants to play the Challenger, he can't be at both places at the same time." He added that Rahul Dravid, the Indian vice-captain, who is in Australia for next month's ICC Super Series between Australia and the Rest of the World, will be asked to represent India at the meeting in case Ganguly opts out.

Ganguly, 33, has been at the centre of storm in recent weeks over a damaging rift with Greg Chappell, the Indian coach, who wanted him to stand down as captain because of his poor batting form. India's cricket chiefs worked out a truce between the warring duo on Tuesday and asked them to mend their differences for the sake of the national team. Ganguly, India's most successful Test captain with 21 wins, has scored 5,066 runs from 84 Tests and 10,123 runs in 279 one-dayers. But a laboured six-hour century against a weakened Zimbabwe earlier this month was Ganguly's first international hundred since November, 2003.