No one understands the pain of being dropped without reason more than Sourav Ganguly [Images] and when Pakistani left-hander Asim Kamal met a similar fate the deposed India captain came over to offer some pep talk to the youngster.

"Ganguly told him [Asim] that every player faced such periods in life and tended to get frustrated and lose focus. But a good and sensible player always put such disappointments behind him and looked ahead," Pakistan daily The News reported quoting an eyewitness.

"He also pointed out to Asim that he himself was unaware of why the selectors had dropped him despite his track record. He said such things happened and since Asim had proven himself at the Test level he should simply look ahead and concentrate on scoring runs at every level," he said.

The former captain, whose selection for the tour was mired in controversy, also advised Asim, not to let "developments outside the ground disturb him, just think positive and look ahead."

Asim was not picked for the first Test starting in Karachi on January 13 despite having a decent Test average of 37.73 with eight half-centuries in 12 Tests.

Meanwhile, the report also stated that Ganguly's selection for the first Test is being discussed by the Indian camp and quoting sources in the team, the report said a final decision is yet to be taken.

"Ganguly is such a senior player it is not easy to tell him you are not playing and make him sit on the bench. Even coach Greg Chappell [Images] has apparently left it to the senior players to discuss and first decide themselves if Ganguly should be played in the Test from January 13," the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

(UNI)