AHMEDABAD, 18 December 2005 — India captain Rahul Dravid will miss the third test against Sri Lanka, starting today, after he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis.
The batsman had been admitted in a local hospital on Friday night after complaining of stomach ailment. Media manager M. Baladitya said doctors had advised Dravid two days’ rest. The Karnataka cricketer is missing his first Test after playing 94 on the trot.
The 32-year-old, who took over the mantle of Test captaincy from Saurav Ganguly at the start of this series, had complained of fever and exhaustion during the second Test earlier this week.
The hosts had won at New Delhi by 188 runs to lead 1-0 in the three-match series after the rain-marred first Test had ended in a draw.
Vice-captain Virender Sehwag, who missed the second Test due to a throat infection, will lead the team. Either middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif or recalled opener Wasim Jaffer will take the vacant batting slot.
There is illness concern in the Sri Lankan camp as well, with pacemen Chaminda Vaas and Dilhara Fernando down with fever, while skipper Marvan Atapattu has just recovered from ‘flu.
Vaas and Fernando did not attend the final practice session. “We are hoping to have a full side to pick from,” said Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody. “They are not 100 percent fit at the moment.” Moody also said his players had reviewed the Delhi match, where three batting collapses had cost dearly. “Hopefully, we will not repeat the mistakes,” the Australian said. “We have everything to play for, need to square the series, win our first-ever Test on Indian soil.”
India Parliament to Debate Ganguly’s Axing
In New Delhi, Saurav Ganguly’s omission from the Indian team for the third and final Test against Sri Lanka took a political twist yesterday with Parliament preparing to discus his sacking next week.
Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of the lower house of Parliament, said Ganguly had suffered an “injustice” as a result of “politics in the game” and the issue would be discussed next week.
“I have allowed this to be added in the agenda and it will come up for discussion. Such incidents will affect the morale of young players and we must take corrective measures,” he was quoted as saying in Indian media yesterday.
Ganguly, India’s most successful captain with 21 Test wins, was dropped from the squad on Wednesday after the second Test against Sri Lanka here. His dumping triggered a wave of protests, particularly in his home town of Calcutta, as fans, cricketers and politicians condemned the decision of the national selectors.
Ganguly has already received political backing with Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying the batsman deserved a place in the Test team.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, chief minister of Ganguly’s home state of West Bengal, described the decision as unjust as well as insulting to the player and “to all of us.”
