I have failed, admits Saurav, but cites general lack of application as cause for

While waiting for his connecting flight to Calcutta, the Indian skipper termed the team’s desert rendezvous as “pretty disappointing”.

The buck stops with the captain and Ganguly did not exonerate himself. “I did not score runs, so obviously that’s a sad part. But these things are bound to happen once in a while when you play so much cricket. This is the first time I have failed in a One-day series in the last two years.”

Moreover, Sachin (Tendulkar) did not do too well, Rahul did not score enough while Ajay (Jadeja) and Robin (Singh) struggled. The team, thus, did not score enough runs. We were scoring around 160 everytime and a team cannot hope to win with that kind of target everytime. But that’s history, let’s forget about it. We’ve got a lot of cricket ahead and let’s put things in the right place.”

òf40óExcerpts from an interview with Ganguly:

On dropping Javagal Srinath: I would not say he had two bad series. I would say he had three bad games (spread over two series). Moreover, he is suffering a groin injury. He is our frontline bowler and the team expects a lot from him. Hopefully, he will come back fit and do the job he is known for.

On Dravid’s form: He is a top class player and one of our my main players. His form is worrying. But he is too good a player not to score runs (for long).

On Mohammed Azharuddin’s batting: He played well but I think he can play better. We need big hundreds from Azhar and and not 30s and 40s.

Gains of the series: I was happy the way (Ajit) Agarkar bowled. And Venkatesh Prasad, too. Anil Kumble was his usual self…

On the team’s fitness: Andrew Leipus is probably the best physiotherapist we’ve had. He’s is good. The only problem is that we have been playing continuously. So, he hasn’t had enough time to put us through rigorous training. The two-week camp prior to the Dhaka Asia Cup may help the boys get fitter.

On any negative effects captaincy has on his batting: No, nothing. It’s just that I got out after getting good starts.

Future plans: We have to improve every aspect of our cricket. We bowled well in Sharjah, except in the last 10 overs against Pakistan. Otherwise, we did well. The break ahead will help the boys recharge. A two-week camp prior to the Asia Cup should help iron out the wrinkles. That is where we have to work harder and try to improve our cricket and put in a better performance. I feel we will do much better in Dhaka.

On his inclusion in the Asia XI: I have not received anything officially except that I have been selected and asked to go. I was disappointed earlier because I have scored a lot of runs in the last three years — the most number of runs in One-day cricket in the world. And then not getting picked³? There is nothing greater than playing for your country, but there is a lot of pride playing these matches.