Afro-Asian Cricket Series
Selection annoys Ganguly
Afp, Dambulla
The inaugural Afro-Asian cricket series to be played in South Africa later this month was plunged into controversy on Tuesday when former India captain Sourav Ganguly protested at his omission.Ganguly, only 33 runs away from becoming the third batsman after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan's Inzamamul Haq to score 10,000 one-day runs, said he was "disgusted" at being left out of the 15-man Asia squad. "It is a raw deal," Ganguly told reporters in this Buddhist town which is hosting a tri-series between India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. "It is a raw deal. I may not have scored in my four one-dayers this year, but does anybody's selection anywhere depend on four matches? "What about the nearly 10,000 one-day runs I have got? Don't they have value? Am I always to be the whipping boy? "I am disgusted." The made-for-television Asia versus Africa one-dayers, granted official status by the International Cricket Council, will be played in Centurion, Pretoria on August 17 and at Kingsmead, Durban on August 20 and 21. Both squads were announced on Monday night. The Asian squad, captained by Inzamam, includes six Pakistanis, four each from India and Sri Lanka and one Bangladeshi. Ganguly, replaced as India captain by Rahul Dravid after being banned for slow over-rates against Pakistan in April, said Inzamam deserved to lead Asia. "I am happy Inzy has got the captaincy and I would not have had a problem playing under him," he said. "What I can't understand is why the chief selectors of the four Test-playing nations did not do the choosing and picking?" The Asian selection panel included Majid Khan of Pakistan, Ravi Shastri of India, Graeme Labrooy of Sri Lanka and Shafiqul Haque Hira of Bangladesh, none of whom currently serve on their respective national selection committees. Media reports, citing unnamed sources, said Majid and Shastri threatened to walk out of the panel when one of the Asian officials suggested that Ganguly be included in the squad. Africa named a provisional 19-man squad with Shaun Pollock leading in the first two games since his South African captain Graeme Smith is serving a two-match ban for slow over-rates. Smith will captain Africa for the third match.
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