I am not quitting: Ganguly by AFP

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Player:	SC Ganguly
Event:	India in Pakistan 2005/06

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DateLine: 3rd February 2006

 

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Friday brushed aside speculation he was planning to quit saying he was in good touch and even ready to open the innings.

 

"I am playing well at the present moment and hopefully I will continue to play well whenever given the opportunity," Ganguly told the Times of India.

 

The left-hander, a controversial selection for the Pakistan tour, hit a gutsy 34 and 37 in two innings on a seamer-friendly track in the third and final Test at Karachi in India's 341-run defeat on Wednesday.

 

"I got to bat in only one Test and put up two hundred-run partnerships and did okay. I thought I batted pretty well," said Ganguly.

 

He has been in the news since a public spat with coach Greg Chappell, who described the Bengali as a "disruptive influence" in a leaked e-mail to the Indian cricket board in October.

 

Ganguly, India's most successful Test captain with 21 wins, was then sacked and axed from the one-day squad.

 

He was included in the team for the first Test against Pakistan at Lahore last month reportedly due to pressure from cricket board chiefs.

 

He was preferred to regular openers Gautam Gambhir and Wasim Jaffar, but batted in the middle order as India went into the Lahore and Karachi Tests with make-shift opening combinations.

 

Ganguly said he was willing to open the innings in an upcoming home Test series against England if the team wanted him to do so.

 

"Of course, I have been asked to open before and I have agreed here (in Pakistan) and in the future too I have no problems opening the innings," said Ganguly, who played as an opener in one-dayers.

 

England arrive in India later this month for three Tests and seven one-dayers.

 

Ganguly also denied he was a loner in the dressing-room in Pakistan, saying he had an enjoyable tour and such talk was mere "speculation".

 

"I have been a captain to most of these boys and there are absolutely no problems," said Ganguly, who has scored 5,221 runs in 88 Tests and 10,123 in 279 one-dayers.

 

"In fact, certain times on the field I have felt that things could be done in a certain way and have given my suggestions to (current captain) Rahul Dravid. There were times when he even implemented them," he said.

(Article: Copyright © 2006 AFP)