Ganguly, Dravid to skip three-dayer

Captain Sourav Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid will miss India's three-day match against Sri Lanka Board President's XI, beginning in Colombo, on Wednesday.

Team manager Anant Mate, who did not specify why the two will skip the three-dayer, said off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is also unlikely to play in the preparatory game for the first of the three-Test series, starting on August 14.

It is yet to be decided who will lead the side in the absence of Ganguly and Dravid, Mate said.

The match, originally scheduled to be played at Matara, 160 km south of Colombo, is being played in the capital as per India's request on security considerations.

Fast bowlers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad arrived on Tuesday afternoon along with opener Sadagoppan Ramesh and joined the Test team. Srinath and Prasad will be bowling in tandem for the first time since January 2000, when India played against Australia Down Under.

Prasad was very happy to be back in the Indian team after a long gap and did not hide his pleasure over partnering Srinath again.

"Bowling with Srinath is always good. He keeps the pressure on the batsmen, does not give much room for them to play," he said.

Prasad said he would concentrate on the basics and try to maintain his line and length.

"The Sri Lankans are good stroke-makers and one cannot afford to bowl a loose line," he said.

For the Sri Lankan board XI, talented all-rounder Thilan Samaraweera will lead a bunch of Test hopefuls. The match will provide an opportunity to veteran left-hander Hashan Tillekeratne to demonstrate his form and resurrect his career.

Two other left-handers who will be looking to make an impression are Kumara Sangakkara and Avishka Gunawardene. Gunawardene had a couple of decent knocks in the triangular one-day series but Sangakkara has been unable to cement his place in the national side so far.

The teams (from):
India: Shiv Sundar Das, Sadagoppan Ramesh, Hemang Badani, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Sameer Dighe, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Harvinder Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rahul Sanghvi and Sairaj Bahutule.

Sri Lanka Board President's XI: Thilan Samaraweera (captain), Avishka Gunawardene, Michael Vandort, Hashan Tillekeratne, Kumar Sangakkara, T Dilshan, Chamara Silva, Ruchira Perera, Suresh Perera, Dinusha Fernando and Sanjeewa Weerakoon.

Mail Cricket Editor