DADA IS BACK: Sourav Ganguly has made the squad but it will be interesting to see if he features in the playing eleven. — FILE PHOTO: AP

Chennai: For the second successive day, the Taj Coromandel here was the scene of high drama as the team for the first Test against Sri Lanka was announced. On Tuesday, Rahul Dravid had been named Test captain for the series. For four hours on Wednesday, the question — whither goes Sourav Ganguly? — remained suspended as the BCCI selectors met.

Finally, board secretary S.K. Nair hurried to the press conference buffeted by newsmen and announced that the team for the last two ODIs against South Africa remained "unchanged". Then, Nair began reading out the names of those selected for the first Test in Chennai.

The first five names evoked little response. The sixth name announced was Ganguly and murmurs filled the air. Kiran More, chairman of the selection committee, then spelt out the reason for Ganguly's retention: "We deliberated quite a lot on Sourav. There were suggestions from some selectors to use him as an allrounder. That's our reason — it will give more comfort to the team balance."

Strings pulled?

It does seem strange that the selectors have woken up to Ganguly's potential as a Test allrounder (25 wickets from 84 matches) at this juncture. More added grist to the rumour mill when he said, "We missed out on Zaheer (Khan), that was a tough call we had to make. We consider Ganguly an allrounder, that's why Zaheer missed out."

That Ganguly should find his way into the long format, where his performance had tailed away, rather than ODI cricket is ironic. Did the decision to pick the man from Bengal as an allrounder imply he couldn't make it as a Test batsman? "Definitely not, he has enough runs," said More, who on Tuesday had said the selectors weren't happy with Ganguly's performance and that Zimbabwe wasn't a side worthy of being rated against. "His performance has been good, he scored hundreds in Zimbabwe and Duleep Trophy."

The inevitable question of whether there had been `external' pressure on the selectors cropped up and More denied it, saying, "We didn't get any phone calls and there was no pressure."

Dhoni gets the break

The fifteen selected consists of three fast-medium bowlers, three spinners, seven batsman, the allrounder and a new wicketkeeper — M.S. Dhoni. The gloveman from Jharkhand breaks through, and Dinesh Kaarthick should consider himself unfortunate. Not because of the cricketing sense behind the decision, which was refreshing, but the inevitability.

Dhoni has snared the senses with his batting, and his potential to break a game open in a Test session couldn't be ignored. Add to the mix his improvement with the big gloves, and the selectors couldn't afford to give him a miss. "He is a match-winner and has taken it to a different level in the ODIs," said More.

Among the batsmen, the two openers, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman pick themselves. The sixth spot then is a toss up between Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Sourav Ganguly.

The two youngsters are India's future — Kaif's two typically gritty half-centuries against McGrath and Warne, and Yuvraj's century at Lahore illustrate not just their potential but the importance of breaking them in before the moment passes. Both add immeasurably to the side's fielding, and this raises the question: will Ganguly be part of the 15 but not the 11?

Irfan Pathan will lead the new-ball attack; Ajit Agrakar should share the duty. The other pace option is left-armer R.P. Singh, whose discipline in the ODIs got him in. Anil Kumble's legspin and Harbhajan's offspin will unfold but will the mangement also choose Murali Kartik's left-arm orthodox?

PTI adds from Kolkata

The `City of Joy' broke into celebrations after Ganguly's selection to the Test squad was announced. Protest and anger gave way to relief and happiness as Kolkata seemed to rediscover its love for the game and geared up to watch India take on South Africa at Eden Gardens on November 25, evident from the spurt in sale of tickets for the day-night tie.

Ganguly, making it to the team after remaining out of the national ODI squad for two series, is currently in Pune for Bengal's Ranji Trophy match.

Officials of the Cricket Association of Bengal said they expected a packed house at the Eden Gardens.

"Though Ganguly will not be playing the match, people of Bengal, who had reacted strongly to Ganguly's sacking, are bound to feel happy. It was an emotional issue for them. And now I am sure there will be a big crowd at the Eden," CAB Joint Secretary Amitava Banerjee told PTI.

The Test squad: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Virender Sehwag (vice capt.), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik.

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