Ganguly says would have tried till World Cup for India recall

New Delhi, Mar 3 (UNI) Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has revealed that he set himself the forthcoming World Cup in the Caribbean deadline to remain in competitive cricket.

''I would have tried till the World Cup. If after that it (a recall) wouldn't have happened, probably I would have taken other decisions,'' Ganguly said when asked if he'd ever thought of quitting during his time away in the wilderness.

''I knew that the selection committee will also change in September. There were a whole lot of things involved in it. As I said, these things were not in my control.

I'd just given myself a deadline that I would try till this period of time and just kept going,'' he said in an interview in March's edition of cricinfo magazine.

The 34-year-old left-hander lost captaincy and his place in the Indian team after an acrimonious fall-out with coach Greg Chappell but was recalled by Dilip Vengsarkar-led selection committee.

He was the top scorer with 214 runs in the three-Test series in South Africa before showing his old prowess in the one-day arena with good knocks in home series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Ganguly, who is a key player in India's bid to regain the coveted World Cup in the Caribbeans after around twenty-five years, however, played down his fairytale comeback, saying that he'd successfully faced crises in several phases in his career.

He also revealed that he'd made a few changes with his technique.

''I have changed my technique, bit with my stance, bit with my initial movement. I use a slightly lighter bat compared to my earlier days,'' he said.

Ganguly interestingly said the prospect of captaining the team again, one of the most demanding jobs in world cricket, does not interest him any more.

''I think I knew it would be for only 4-5 overs. So I was just trying to do a job that Rahul would have done.

[But] it doesn't excite me anymore,'' the Prince of Kolkata replied when asked on how he felt when he captained the Indian team for two overs against West Indies in Baroda as Dravid and Tendulkar were off the field.

Ganguly added that his relationship with Greg Chappell had improved over time.

''A lot of things happened. But time heals everything.

I've come back to the team and am performing, helping the team to win. And that's what a coach requires from a player and that's what a cricket team needs -- for a player to perform and help the team winning,'' Ganguly said.

UNI