Ganguly in line for recall

MUMBAI—With India stuttering from one poor performance to the other in the one-day arena, Sourav Ganguly is in line for a recall to the Test side, nine months after he was jettisoned followed the resounding 341-run defeat at Karachi.
Ganguly, Gautam Gambhir and VRV Singh are likely to be named in the squad on Thursday, and with Rahul Dravid not certain to play in the opening Test, Ganguly could join VVS Laxman and join Sachin Tendulkar in the middle order for what is likely to be a tremendous test of India’s batting resources. Ganguly has one Duleep Trophy century to his name this season, and wealth of experience is being considered as an asset after with Suresh Raina, Mohammad Kaif and Dinesh Mongia failed to make the transition on the bouncier pitches in South Africa. The team’s think-tank and the national selectors also reason that Ganguly’s will to succeed after all the travails of the past 18 months will inspire him to rediscover the sort of form that he last showed on the arduous tour of Australia three years ago.
The other contender for a middle-order berth is S Badrinath , the Tamil Nadu middle-order batsman and captain. Badri scored 636 runs from 7 matches in the last Ranji season, averaging a shade under 80, including a highest of 206 not out, and was only 6 short of Amol Muzumdar, the topscorer, who had played one match more. Badri is believed to have the ideal temperament, being a batsman who can graft, and spend long hours at the crease.—Agencies