Ganguly not to have surgery

Indian vice captain Saurav Ganguly has decided that he will not have the surgery for the injury to his right hamstring as he had planned earlier. The stylish left hander from Bengal said in Calcutta on Friday that the medication and exercises prescribed to him by doctors in Australia and the orthopedic surgeon in Calcutta have healed his injury sufficiently.

"I recently had a discussion with my Australian doctor over the phone and he has asked me to postpone the surgery for the moment," said Ganguly at the Eden Gardens. Ganguly was visiting the net session of the Bengal team preparing for the Ranji Trophy Super League encounter against Delhi.

At the moment, he is concentrating on some stretching exercises and he feels that he will be ready to have a go at the nets on Monday and Tuesday before the Ranji Trophy encounter. "The pain has subsided to a great extent and I am feeling comfortable even while taking short sprints," he said. "In case the injury does not respond sufficiently to the treatment, I can always go for surgery before starting my county season in England."

Ganguly also informed that he had decided to play in the first Ranji Trophy game to prepare himself mentally for the Test match against South Africa. "The last few matches that I have played have been limited over games. I need to adjust to the longer version and the four day tie against Delhi has given me that opportunity."

Ganguly however, is a bit sad that he won't be able to play in any further Ranji Trophy games for Bengal. For immediately after the completion of the South Africa series and the tournament at Sharjah, he will be leaving for Lancashire on April 12. Talking about his decision to play for Lancashire, Ganguly said, "I've learnt the rudiments of the game in England. Playing county cricket is always an educating experience and it will help me to keep in shape." He also added that the authorities in Lancashire have decided to release him for a couple of tournaments that India will be participating in.

Two centuries and a couple of good scores in the eight one dayers that India had played `Down Under' has not been sufficient enough to satisfy Ganguly. "I had desperately wanted to score a hundred in a Test match. That was my main goal and I have failed in that," said the India vice-captain. At the moment, he is also not worried about being made the captain of the Indian team. He brushes away the question saying, "I've not given any thought on this and Sachin Tendulkar as the best player of the side should have the honour of leading it also." He is ready to accept the responsibility when comes but would rather not speak on it.