KANPUR, 15 April 2005 — India will work hard to finish their overs in time during today’s fifth one-dayer against Pakistan after captain Saurav Ganguly was banned for six matches for repeated slow bowling, Rahul Dravid said.

“It is the responsibility of the entire squad. We need to correct this,” Dravid, who has been asked to captain in Kanpur, told reporters yesterday.

“Everyone, the bowlers or fielders, they have got to be better prepared.”

Ganguly received the sanction from ICC match referee Chris Broad after Tuesday’s last-ball defeat in Ahmedabad. As captain of the team, Ganguly was fined following the third game of the series for the same offense.

He lodged an appeal on Wednesday with the ICC and is eligible to play pending a final decision.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), however, told Ganguly not to play in Kanpur to enable the squad chosen under Dravid to maintain its focus on the match.

In a media statement, the board said it took the player into confidence while making the decision although it comes amidst calls to sack Ganguly for his poor batting form.

Ganguly, 32, managed just 48 from five innings in the recent Test series and made a meager 31 in the first four one-dayers.

Dravid denied India’s slow over rate was pre-planned to check Pakistan, who won the last two games to level the six-match series 2-2.

“It has never been a deliberate ploy. We will discuss the issue, it is an area we need to get better at. Hopefully we will not face any more trouble,” he said.

India appeared in great form while winning the first two games before Pakistan’s excellent fightback, particularly when they notched their most successful chase by achieving a victory target of 316 in Ahmedabad.

“In the last two matches, we didn’t play well for 100 overs,” Dravid said. “We did very well in patches but we couldn’t complete the job. We can’t afford any more lapses.”

Pakistan vice captain Younis Khan wanted his team to go one better than the Tests, where they rallied to draw the three-match series 1-1 and belie pre-tour predictions of a rout.

“We didn’t win the Test series, we only leveled it,” Younis said. “Our attempt will be to win at least the one-day series.”

Indian Board Asks Ganguly

Not to Play Kanpur Game

Meanwhile, Indian captain Saurav Ganguly has been asked not to play in today’s fifth one-dayer against Pakistan by the country’s cricket board despite his availability pending an appeal against a six-match ban.

Although Ganguly was free to play in Kanpur after lodging an appeal to the ICC, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yesterday asked him not to.

“Since less than 24 hours remain for the start of the Kanpur match, the board felt it is extremely important for the players to concentrate and focus on the match so that they could bring out the best performance,” the board’s secretary Karunakaran Nair said in a statement.

“In view of this, the board has decided to continue with the selected team for the Kanpur match,” he said.

“This position was duly explained to Ganguly and he appreciated the board’s decision.” The BCCI statement did not mention whether Ganguly would play in the sixth and final game in New Delhi on Sunday.

The board’s decision could further erode Ganguly’s position in the team, already rendered shaky after averaging 9.6 in the drawn Test series against Pakistan and managing just 31 in the first four one-dayers.

Ganguly was banned as captain because his offense was upgraded as it was his second in a 12-month period, having just been fined for his team’s slow over rate during the 106-run defeat in the third one-dayer on Saturday.