Ganguly to quit after series

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly Tuesday announced that he will retire after the Test series against Australia.




"This will be my last series. I have decided to quit after the four Tests," said Ganguly at the end of a routine press conference in Bangalore.

"Before coming here I spoke to my team-mates and hopefully I will go out with a winning note," he added.

The southpaw's decision to hang up his boots came just days after speculation that a deal had been closed between him and the BCCI to give him an honourable exit, which was refuted by the players as well as Board officials.

In fact, off late the pressure has been mounting on India's 'Fab Four' to perform or give way to the youngsters and finally it is India's most successfull skipper who will call it a day.

The call to allow the 'Fab Four' to choose their retirement day had also been growing louder with every passing day and Ganguly again has used his judgment and timing to perfection.

The chief of the selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth felt Ganguly made the right decision.

"I think Sourav Ganguly has been an excellent player. He has brought so many laurels as captain and player.

"He had a good chat with me and (fellow selector) Narendra Hirwani. He wants a peaceful series without any troubles on his mind. I hope he goes out with couple of hundreds. Ganguly was one of the best captains the world has ever produced and I think he deserves it."

Thirty-six-year-old Ganguly has so far scored 6,888 runs in 109 Tests, with 15 hundreds. In 311 ODIs, he scored 11,363 runs at 41.02. He captained India in 147 ODIs.

Ganguly played 49 Tests as captain, the most by an Indian and the 21 matches won during his tenure is also an Indian record.

Starting with a hundred on debut in 1996 at Lord's, Ganguly's Test average has never dipped below 40.

Ganguly is also one of only three players to complete the treble of 10,000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches in ODIs, Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar being the others.

In fact, Ganguly and Tendulkar formed the most prolific partnership at the to of the order. The two put on 6,609 runs at an average of nearly 50 per stand in 136 innings.

Ganguly, often referred to as Indian cricket's comeback man, scored 1,571 runs at 50.67, including a maiden double-century since his recall in December 2006 and till the end of the home series against South Africa earlier this year.