Sourav Ganguly may be included in Asia XI

India captain Saurav Ganguly who has not been selected for the Asia XI to play the Rest of the World next month may yet be picked for the team. According to sources, he is in the list of reserves and should any player get injured prior to the match, Ganguly may be included.

Sri Lanka's Aravinda D'Silva is suffering from a hamstring injury and if he pulls out, Ganguly could well be in. Ganguly, Romesh Kaluwitharana (Sri Lanka) and Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq are in the reserves.

It may be noted that Sunil Gavaskar pressed hard for the inclusion of Ganguly. Even Ravi Shastri, who was the moderator of the selection committee comprising of Ian Chappell, Tony Greig, Mike Proctor and Asif Iqbal favoured having Ganguly in the side. And Ganguly's exclusion has not only surprised the fans in Calcutta but even the player himself.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the hosts, seem to be very keen to have at least one player of Bengali origin to play in the match, it is learnt. BCB chief Saber Hosain Chowdhry is likely to speak to the ICC about this.