NEW DELHI, 15 November 2004 — Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, who missed the last two Tests against Australia with injury, has been picked for the first Test against South Africa but will miss the match due to an unprecedented ban for a slow over rate.
The 32-year-old Ganguly was found guilty yesterday for his team’s over rate in Saturday’s one-day loss to Pakistan and given a two-Test ban, ruling him out for both matches against South Africa in Kanpur and Calcutta later this month.
It is the first time a captain has been banned in this way, an International Cricket Council spokesman confirmed.
“At a hearing, Ganguly was found guilty for his team’s slow over rate,” an ICC statement said. “As this is his second level-two offense in the last 12 months, it changes automatically to a level three offense according to the ICC’s code of conduct.”
In line with the strict ICC rule on over rates, a level-three offence results in a suspension.
India were almost 10 overs behind the scheduled close of play and the bowlers struggled late in the day on Saturday with dewy conditions at the Eden Gardens.
A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official said they would appeal against the decision made by match referee Clive Lloyd.
Vice captain Rahul Dravid will lead the team in Ganguly’s absence and fast bowler Irfan Pathan will be back in action in the Tests after recovering from a side strain. He also played in Saturday’s one-dayer to celebrate the Indian board’s 75th anniversary.
Pathan replaces bowler Shib Paul while Ganguly had come in for backup opener Dheeraj Jadhav.
The rest of the 14-member squad remained unchanged from the fourth and final Test against Australia in Bombay where India won by 13 runs although Australia still clinched the series 2-1.
Yuvraj Singh, who struck a 62-ball 78 in Saturday’s one-day match, was not included. The first Test starts on Saturday.
Original squad: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Irfan Pathan, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik.
