Ganguly makes Asia XI !!

[vvvrulz]

Yes he is named in the squad of fourteen, and even named as captain.

Why oh why oh why.........

[Zainub]

Because of the lack of better alternatives is the only reason I can think of (which can't be a reason since they've also picked Attapatu) I personally tend to think Ganguly doesn't even merit a place in the team, let alone be skipper, I'd have Inzi in the team/squad ahead of him) he's not scored a one-day hundred against proper opposition for a while now, and if you take out the 90 odd he made against England in 3rd Nat West ODI, you'll have to go as far back as the first ODI in Australian VB Series to get his next score of note...really indifferent form this...and for my money doesn't suggest you should be in an Asian XI, but I said already I wouldn't really be bothered with who gets selected. Should be a good contest who ever is in either side.

[vvvrulz]

I said somewhere else also, that Yuvraj will be better served in his spot. Atapattu gaining captaincy.

[Zainub]

I'd have Inzi instead.

[vvvrulz]

I guess Ganguly is in there because its an exhibition match.

[imaginarydiva]

Gee!I think that guy deserves his place.I admit his performance hasnt been that good nowadays and well,its pretty natural for guys to be jealous of him but still his record is fantastic.Hes definitely one of the best in Asia and i think hes the best Asian captain.

[vvvrulz]

His record is fantastic due to those years ago when he did play well, but theyre long gone i reckon. His average keeps up because of his centuries against the likes of Kenya. Both Atapattu and Inzamam were better candidates IMO.

[imaginarydiva]

I agree his form has declined.But still he has done a lot for indian cricket and i am sure his contributions will continue to flow.Even if he hasnt made too many centuries he has atleast made some 30 odd runs 'fairly' consistently.(I highlighted the word fairly bcuz i am making a comparison of the bengal tiger with the other indian players and come to think of it,the others aren't in explosive form either!)

[Rahul_Dravid_is_No.1]

well if the basis of selection is form? then sehwag needs to be kicked out.......

ganguly is a great odi player and soon to cross 10k runs. he deserves to be in the team and he is the best captain. you may say you want inzy in there. but he is injured and playing rubbish at the moment. dont forget he is too depressed. ganguly is the most tactically sound asian captain for sure.

anyway why is zaheer there and not pathan? pathan is top wicket taker in odis of 2004

[Rachael]

Originally Posted by vvvrulz

Why oh why oh why.........

Might have a lot to do with this: ODI batting ratings from May 99 to June 2002. The ratings since aren't quite as good.. but they are certainly not poor.

26/05/1999 4 Sri Lanka Taunton 
30/05/1999 4 England Birmingham 
04/06/1999 4 Australia The Oval 
12/06/1999 6 New Zealand Nottingham 
23/08/1999 7 Australia Galle 
25/08/1999 9 Sri Lanka Colombo (RPS) 
28/08/1999 12 Australia Colombo (SSC) 
29/08/1999 9 Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 
04/09/1999 10 Zimbabwe Singapore 
05/09/1999 11 West Indies Singapore 
07/09/1999 12 West Indies Singapore 
08/09/1999 10 West Indies Singapore 
11/09/1999 9 West Indies Toronto 
12/09/1999 10 West Indies Toronto 
14/09/1999 10 West Indies Toronto 
26/09/1999 8 South Africa Nairobi 
29/09/1999 10 Kenya Nairobi 
01/10/1999 6 Zimbabwe Nairobi 
03/10/1999 8 South Africa Nairobi 
05/11/1999 9 New Zealand Rajkot 
08/11/1999 11 New Zealand Hyderabad 
11/11/1999 5 New Zealand Gwalior 
14/11/1999 4 New Zealand Gauhati 
17/11/1999 3 New Zealand Delhi 
10/01/2000 3 Pakistan Brisbane 
12/01/2000 3 Australia Melbourne 
14/01/2000 3 Australia Sydney 
21/01/2000 3 Pakistan Hobart 
25/01/2000 2 Pakistan Adelaide 
26/01/2000 2 Australia Adelaide 
28/01/2000 3 Pakistan Perth 
09/03/2000 2 South Africa Kochi 
12/03/2000 2 South Africa Jamshedpur 
15/03/2000 1 South Africa Faridabad 
17/03/2000 1 South Africa Vadodara 
19/03/2000 1 South Africa Nagpur 
22/03/2000 1 South Africa Sharjah 
23/03/2000 2 Pakistan Sharjah 
26/03/2000 2 Pakistan Sharjah 
27/03/2000 2 South Africa Sharjah 
30/05/2000 2 Bangladesh Dhaka 
01/06/2000 2 Sri Lanka Dhaka 
03/06/2000 2 Pakistan Dhaka 
03/10/2000 2 Kenya Nairobi 
07/10/2000 2 Australia Nairobi 
13/10/2000 2 South Africa Nairobi 
15/10/2000 1 New Zealand Nairobi 
20/10/2000 1 Sri Lanka Sharjah 
22/10/2000 2 Zimbabwe Sharjah 
26/10/2000 2 Zimbabwe Sharjah 
27/10/2000 2 Sri Lanka Sharjah 
29/10/2000 2 Sri Lanka Sharjah 
02/12/2000 3 Zimbabwe Cuttack 
05/12/2000 2 Zimbabwe Ahmedabad 
08/12/2000 2 Zimbabwe Jodhpur 
11/12/2000 2 Zimbabwe Kanpur 
25/03/2001 2 Australia Bangalore 
28/03/2001 2 Australia Pune 
31/03/2001 3 Australia Indore 
03/04/2001 3 Australia Visakhapatnam 
06/04/2001 3 Australia Goa 
24/06/2001 5 Zimbabwe Harare 
27/06/2001 4 Zimbabwe Bulawayo 
30/06/2001 5 West Indies Bulawayo 
04/07/2001 5 West Indies Harare 
07/07/2001 5 West Indies Harare 
20/07/2001 8 New Zealand Colombo (RPS) 
22/07/2001 6 Sri Lanka Colombo (RPS) 
26/07/2001 8 New Zealand Colombo (RPS) 
01/08/2001 10 Sri Lanka Colombo (SSC) 
02/08/2001 10 New Zealand Colombo (SSC) 
05/08/2001 12 Sri Lanka Colombo (RPS) 
05/10/2001 6 South Africa Johannesburg 
10/10/2001 6 South Africa Centurion 
12/10/2001 6 Kenya Bloemfontein 
17/10/2001 8 Kenya Port Elizabeth 
19/10/2001 5 South Africa East London 
24/10/2001 5 Kenya Paarl 
26/10/2001 5 South Africa Durban 
19/01/2002 5 England Kolkata 
22/01/2002 7 England Cuttack 
28/01/2002 7 England Kanpur 
31/01/2002 6 England Delhi 
03/02/2002 4 England Mumbai 
07/03/2002 4 Zimbabwe Faridabad 
10/03/2002 3 Zimbabwe Mohali 
13/03/2002 4 Zimbabwe Kochi 
16/03/2002 7 Zimbabwe Hyderabad 
19/03/2002 7 Zimbabwe Gauhati 
29/05/2002 7 West Indies Bridgetown 
01/06/2002 7 West Indies Port-of-Spain 
02/06/2002 4 West Indies Port-of-Spain 
29/06/2002 3 England Lord's

That said.. I think he's in for media-profile and understanding of the media and ability to front up to the world's press answering questions about the disaster and the relief effort: he's going to have the toughest job of anyone that day.. and it's NOT going to be on the field.