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Ganguly fails to make it to Asia XI

Newly appointed India skipper Saurav Ganguly does not figure in the Asia XI squad led by former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram which will play Brian Lara-led Rest of the World XI in a one-day match in Dhaka on April 8.

The teams for the day-night match was picked up in New Delhi on Tuesday by a five-member selection panel comprising former cricketing greats Ian Chappel, Tony Greig, Sunil Gavaskar, Mike Proctor and Asif Iqbal.

Former India all-rounder and now television commentator Ravi Shastri was the moderator.

Announcing the two teams, International Cricket Council President Jagmohan Dalimya told a press conference that the entire process of selection would be telecast during the ICC Cricketnext.com Cricket Week to be held between April 2 and 9.

The Asia XI team includes four Indians - Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh and Anil Kumble.

Asked why Ganguly did not figure in the list, Dalmiya said, ''They (selectors) must have had their own reasons for not selecting somebody. We had provided them with the whole list.''

He said the final eleven for both the teams would be selected by the respective captains in consultation with Asif Iqbal.

The teams:
Asia XI : Wasim Akram (Captain), Sanath Jayasuriya (vice-captain), Moin Khan (wicket keeper), Saeed Anwar, Sachin Tendulkar, Aravinda de Silva, Ajay Jadeja, Abdul Razzaq, Robin Singh, Anil Kumble, Muthiah Muralitharan and Shoaib Akhtar.

Rest of World XI: Brian Lara (captain), Mark Waugh (vice-captain), Adam Gilchrist (wicketkeeper), Jacques Kallis, Michael Bevan, Neil Johnson, Lance Klusener, Chris Cairns, Daniel Vettori, Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald and Andrew Caddick.

Asked about availability of Lara who recently stepped down from captaincy, Dalmiya said: ''If he is not able to make it the selectors will find a replacement through tele-conferencing.''

The winners of the match will be richer by $ 30,000 while the man of the match, best bowler, best fielder and best batsman will be awarded $ 2,500 each.

Dalmiya said a separate selection panel was in the process of picking up an All Stars XI to ''give recognition to all those who have played international cricket since 1975.''

The selection panel comprises Garry Sobers, Neil Harvey, John Reid, Bishen Singh Bedi, Barry Richards, Mushtaq Mohammad, Duleep Mendis and Andy Pyroff besides former umpire Dicky Bird.

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