KOLKATA: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is happy to be back in the Indian Test squad bound for Pakistan. A relieved Ganguly said that that he `is happy to be back in the Indian squad,' and hoped that the `team will play well in Pakistan.' He was speaking to the media at his residence on Saturday.

When asked whether he would open the batting, he said he had nothing much to say on that and added that he was yet to receive a communication from the Board on his inclusion into the squad. "I have no official communication from the Board. I learnt about my inclusion from the television."

A reticent Ganguly, who preferred to reply in short sentences, said the series would be a competitive one and hoped India would do well. "Last time when the Indian team toured Pakistan, it had won both the Test and one-day series," he added.

City of joy

As the city danced in joy following Ganguly's inclusion in the Test squad, three former selectors from East Zone, Sambaran Banerjee, Ashok Malhotra and Pranab Roy, joined a number of officials from the Cricket Association of Bengal to hail the decision to reinstate him.

Malhotra, in whose time Ganguly was made the Indian team's vice-captain, said it was a mistake to drop him in the first place. "His experience will be valuable for the team on this tough tour," he opined.

Ganguly, who first played for India in the 1991-92 tour of Australia and went into oblivion thereafter, returned to the Indian team in 1996 when Sambaran Banerjee was the selector from East. Said he, "Sourav is too good a player to be kept out of the Indian side. Selectors did the right thing by getting him back."

Pranab Roy said Ganguly deserved a place in the Indian squad and felt there was no way he would have been kept out like this.

The CAB president, J. Dalmiya, said his association was very happy to note the return of Ganguly to the Indian side. "He deserved to be there," he said and added, "it was a mistake to drop him from the team. Now that better sense has prevailed I hope he gets the chance to prove himself and no undue pressure is created on him. Ganguly has a lot of cricket left in him."

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