"NOT DROPPED BECAUSE OF FORM"

A disappointed Sourav Ganguly speaks exclusively on his ODI omission, says it wasn't because of his batting.
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has had a dream comeback to internatioanl cricket but just when he was in top form, Ganguly was dropped from the ODI squad. Sourav Ganguly opens his heart out on his disappointment at being left out from the ODIs.

Why aren't you playing against Australia?

I think, the selectors will have a better idea. But all I can say, it's not on the basis of form, which is in my control. I can only get the runs, the rest is not in my hands.

What was your reaction when you heard you were dropped?

I was a bit surprised because I didn't expect it. As in both forms of the game whether it be in Test or One-day, I scored nearly 2500 runs in one year. I was a bit surprised but that's the way it is.

What did you tell them?

They just asked me whether I wanted to continue playing One-day cricket. I said, 'Yes, at least for the next 7-8 months'. Since there's not much of One-day cricket in this year, and the rest of the year is full of Test cricket. So I wanted to play till September (2008), and then take a call because at some stage, we wouldn't have gone on to play the 2011 World Cup.

Didn't you discuss it with anyone?

No.

Over the last two to three years, more has been written about Sourav Ganguly's off-field activities, his lobbies, the people favouring him and so on. How do you react to all this?

It's all very irritating. I need to be treated as a player and that's every player's right. To be honest since 2005, after I got dropped and I lost my captaincy, lot of things have been other than cricket which is not required for anybody whether it's me (I've played for 12-13 years) or a newcomer. These things are not required and it doesn't happen anywhere else in the world. I need to be judged on my cricket.