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Selectors to decide upon Ganguly's return, not me: Chappell

     Bangalore/Rajkot: Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell on Friday declined to comment on the return of former skipper Saurav Ganguly to the team, who scored a century for East Zone in a Duleep Trophy tie against North Zone in Rajkot today. On being asked about Ganguly's return to the team, Chappell, who in his letter to the Cricket board had complained about the later's poor performance, said he was not the one to decide on the team selection. "You have to ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the selectors, that is not something I can answer," he told reporters in Bangalore where the Indian team is attending a three-day conditioning camp. Ganguly was dropped as captain and his longtime deputy Rahul Dravid chosen to lead the side in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and South Africa eralier this month. The Kolkata southpaw has not find a place in the 15-member squad for the first two games of a seven match one-day series against Sri Lanka beginning October 25.

     The 33-year-old Ganguly, who took over as skipper in 2000, is credited with moulding the national team into a fighting unit, particularly backing youngsters like Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag who faced problems early in their careers. However, the position of Ganguly, India's most successful captain with 21 test victories became shaky because of his prolonged batting slump and a recent public disagreement with coach Greg Chappell. Meanwhile, Chappell said master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who makes a comeback in the team after a span of 14 months, had shown improvement and hoped he would return with a bang. "The camp was good for Sachin and now he needs to play some cricket and get more time in the middle, get more match fitness. But I have seen improvement each day through Mohali and through this camp, and I think its been very positive," Chappell said. Tendulkar, who underwent surgery on his left elbow in May, was included in the team for the first two games of the series despite only making 12, 4 and 22 in the recently concluded Challenger Series. Tendulkar's last international appearance was in the final one- dayer of a six-match home series against Pakistan in April, which the visitors won 4-2. The surgery forced Tendulkar to skip a tri-series in Sri Lanka in July-August and the tour of Zimbabwe.