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Ganguly likely for Asia XI

Zakia Maryam in Calcutta

Two Indians, including skipper Saurav Ganguly, may be included in the Asia XI team which will take on Rest of the World XI for the Cricket Week match in Dhaka on April 2, International Cricket Council chairman, Jagmohan Dalmiya announced in Calcutta.

According to Dalmiya, a couple of players selected to represent Asia XI had sustained injuries and will not be able to take part in the forthcoming cricket carnival. Although the ICC chief declined to name the replacements for the injured players, he hinted that Ganguly was a front runner.

"Saurav has been doing a splendid job both as a captain and batsman. He has proved that the pressure of leading a side has not affected his individual performance. In fact, if you analyse his performance against formidable South Africa in the recently concluded one-day series, you will find that he's not only batted well but also played less deliveries while piling up those runs."

Cricket pundits, primarily from Bengal, have questioned the prudence of the ICC-appointed selection panel comprising Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Chappel, Tony Greig, Mike Procter and Bishen Singh Bedi in omitting Ganguly's name from 12-member Asian XI side. The apparent reasoning behind the selectors' preference of Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and Pakistan's Saeed Anwar over Ganguly is the latter's poor strike rate, an area the Bengali southpaw has worked hard on in the recent past.

Dalmiya also declined to disclose the names of the players who will be dropped from the Asia XI, saying the final decision in this regard will be taken on April 1. However, if indeed Ganguly is accommodated in the Asia XI side, it is likely to be at the cost of Anwar, who failed to find a berth in the Pakistani national squad following injuries.

Dalmiya announced the names of 24 ICC ambassadors, which include four Indians -- Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Bishen Singh Bedi and Ravi Shastri. The others nominated are: Gary Sobers, Alan Border, Vivian Richards, Ian Botham, Richard Headly, Ian Chappel, Imran Khan, Graham Pollock, Barry Richrads, Geoffery Boycott, Martin Crowe, Michael Holding, Asif Iqbal, Tony Greig, Mushtaqu Mohammad, Mike Procter, John Reid, Dilip Mendis, David Houghton and Dicky Bird. Bird is the only umpire to figure in the list.

"These ambassadors have been appointed for one year. During this period they will be traveling to ICC's associate member countries to promote the game. They will also be monitoring the infrastructure and send their feedback to the ICC," Dalmiya added.

Dalmiya also admitted that the ICC will soon be entering into a deal with Kerry Packer.

"I had met him on Wednesday in New Delhi and the discussion was fruitful. Though Packer has always been surrounded by controversy, there is no denying the fact that the man has contributed a lot in adding a new dimension to cricket. Therefore, I find nothing wrong in enriching from his expertise," he said.