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`Next two matches will be crucial'

BANGALORE NOV. 10. Back in charge the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said the next two matches will be crucial for India here on Monday.

"A win against Australia at Bangalore is not enough. We still have to beat New Zealand at Hyderabad. That match is going to be virtually a semifinal," Ganguly stressed while announcing his renewal of contract with Percept D'Mark.

He said that he had signed a contract with the agency "for the rest of his playing career." He initially said that the contract was renewed up to 2008. When asked whether he planned to retire by then he said the contract was again renewable but would carry on for the rest of his career.

It may be recalled that the India captain was involved in a controversy during the hiatus between the lapsed contract and its renewal this year. "Yes, another company Nimbus had been negotiating with me but I have decided to stick with Percept D'Mark," Ganguly confirmed.

Mr. Sanjay Lal, CEO of the agency, said that he was not in a position to disclose the signing amount. When quizzed whether it was above or below the speculated amount of Rs. 60 crores, he reiterated that he was not in a position to state the amount.

Ganguly remarked that he was "quite happy" with the scheduling and felt that it was up to the BCCI and ICC to fix the dates and venue. "We cannot play only day or day/night matches as many of the stadia do not have floodlights. Even in tri-series matches in Australia, teams often play back to back games," Ganguly said while commenting on Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming's gripe against the schedules.

The India skipper also said that the wicket-keeping gloves will continue to be a part of Rahul Dravid's kit definitely for the one-dayers as it gave the side a solid batting depth.

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