
THE DECISION
There was no bloodshed and, apparently, little drama. In the end, Sourav Ganguly was picked for the tour of Pakistan ‘‘because of his experience’’. The decision, however, was taken long before the selectors met on Saturday. Possibly when he met Sharad Pawar on Tuesday, possibly when Pawar met Sachin on Friday.
THE REACTION
‘‘I’m happy, that’s all I can say’’ — Sourav Ganguly
‘‘I’m happy…it’s not something to be particularly relieved about’’ — wife Dona
THE FLIP-FLOP-FLIP
Chief selector Kiran More’s justification when…
GANGULY WAS PICKED FOR CHENNAI TEST
• He has been picked as a batting all-rounder.
GANGULY DROPPED FOR AHMEDABAD TEST
• We want Yuvraj to play…We don’t want to have Sourav and put him in the reserves
GANGULY WAS PICKED FOR PAK TOUR
• Sourav has experience and runs behind him. We wanted to give youngsters a chance against Sri Lanka. I am not saying he will play in the XI
THE OTHERS WHO MADE NEWS
Parthiv Patel (remember him?) returns to the team as the second keeper. Zaheer also returns, while Mohd Kaif loses out yet again
THE FORECAST
If Ganguly plays, expect Shoaib to add a few yards to his run-up. If he doesn’t, plant a spy-cam in the dressing room


