Dhaka, Apr 14: Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is likely to sit out of India's match against Bangladesh on Wednesday to give rest to his troubled back. In the event of Ganguly opting out, Virender Sehwag, the stand-in vice-captain in the absence of Rahul Dravid, will get the honour of leading the team for the first time in his career.
With India virtually assured of a place in Sunday's final, having won both their matches so far, Ganguly does not want to take the risk of aggravating the injury and has expressed his desire to be rested, team sources said today. The 30-year-old Indian skipper has been afflicted with the back problem for quite some time now and had even decided not to participate in the tri-series here but changed his mind after a number of key players opted out on various grounds.
Left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, who suffered a hamstring injury in yesterday's match against South Africa, may also be rested for the remaining two preliminary round matches. The team management is quite happy with the performance of the other two pace bowlers - Ajit Agarkar and newcomer Avishkar Salvi - and would not like to field Zaheer in unimportant matches.
Ganguly had indicated prior to the tri-series that he would try out all the newcomers in the tournament. The skipper kept his word and three players have already made their debut in the tournament so far. While Salvi and Delhi opener Gautam Gambhir made their debut against Bangladesh, leg spinner Amit Mishra got his chance to play his first one-day international against South Africa yesterday.
Bureau Report