India captain Sourav Ganguly [Images] was ruled out of competitive cricket on Friday for ten days because of an elbow injury, making him a doubtful starter for the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka [Images].

Ganguly has been advised ten days rest, forcing him to sit out of the N K P Salve Challenger Trophy in Mohali and will have to race against time to be fully fit for the home series against Sri Lanka beginning October 25.

The Indian captain was examined by the BCCI-appointed sports medicine expert Dr Anant Joshi and team physiotherapist Jogn Gloster who were of the opinion that the left-handed batsman has a 'mild tennis elbow sympton' which initially cropped up while he was on the Zimbabwe tour last month.

"Dr Anant Joshi and John Gloster, physiotherapist, Indian cricket team, examined the reports of Ganguly (and) examined his elbow.

"They are of the opinion that he has a mild tennis elbow symptom and requires rest of 10 days and will return to Mumbai for re-assessment after that," said Ratnakar Shetty, the Board's executive secretary-in-charge, in a media release.

"In view of this Sourav will not be participating in the upcoming (Oct 10-13) Challenger Trophy," the release added.

Asked which reports were examined by Dr Joshi and Gloster, Shetty informed that the duo had gone through the MRI scan Ganguly had undergone recently in Kolkata apart from the report of Dr Kalyan Mukherjee, the orthopaedic surgeon he had consulted at his home city.

Shetty said that national senior selection committee Chairman Kiran More would announce Ganguly's replacement. The left-hander had been named captain of the India Seniors in the Challenger Trophy.

The event has assumed greater importance as the national selectors would meet at its conclusion to choose the Indian squad to take on the visiting Sri Lankans.

The captain for the series is tentatively to be chosen on October 13 evening, and it remains to be seen whether the selectors would give Ganguly the team's charge again subject to his passing the medical test that would be conducted in Mumbai around October 17 or 18, according to Shetty.

Ganguly underwent a gym and fitness routine at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday and spent around one and half hours at the venue. But he stayed away from batting so as not to strain his troublesome elbow.

Ganguly had on Monday consulted Dr Mukherjee, who advised him to undergo an MRI scan.

India's most successful Test captain is the second top Indian player to be afflicted by the malady, Sachin Tendulkar [Images] being the other.

Tendulkar is scheduled to return to competitive cricket in the Challenger Trophy after undergoing surgery for his elbow problem in May in London [Images] and is still feeling some discomfort in the joint though the doctors say this was normal.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images