Before news came of his omission, Ganguly had been rejoicing with others in India’s win and calling the current team “a very good side that could be No.1”. Ironically, he also talked about how Australia were missing veterans Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, with its younger players buckling under pressure. “They are finding out that players can’t go on and play forever. Obviously they have less experience now. Their young players need to step up,” he said.

The two selectors present in Australia, Ranjib Biswal and Venkatapathy Raju, were consulted before the ODI team was announced, along with Dhoni, Yuvraj and Test team captain Kumble. Biswal, an East Zone selector, is believed to have met Ganguly and told him what was coming his way.

Sources say the ODI team was more or less formalised at Perth itself, with 18 names sent to Dilip Vengsarkar, Sanjay Jagdale and Bhupinder Singh, including Ganguly and Murali Kartik. They were to drop two to decide a final 16. Finally, it all came down to Ganguly’s poor fielding abilities. Dhoni, Yuvraj and the selectors felt that on bigger grounds, this could prove a drawback.

Ganguly couldn’t find a place on the merit of runs either, as he hasn’t scored sufficiently high in the last eight ODIs while his contribution in the Perth match, unfortunately, was minuscule.

Twenty-one-year-old Raina, on the other hand, has managed 206 runs in three matches at a strike rate of 105, and 683 runs in eight Ranji matches. He makes a comeback exactly a year after he played his last ODI.

... contd.