'It's a different phase' - Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly does not attribute his recent runs to the loss of captaincy © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian captain, admits that he is unsure whether being relieved of the captaincy has helped him play better.

"For the last five-six months, I have been making runs in both domestic and Test cricket. I also scored runs as the captain in Zimbabwe, so I don't know whether I am playing better because I am no longer the Indian captain," Ganguly said after compiling a well-made 88 in Bengal's Ranji trophy loss to Tamil Nadu at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata yesterday. "But yes, it's a different phase. The responsibility is less because as a captain you have to do many other things. But it is the same for all other captains."

Asked whether he was looking forward to the Test series in Pakistan, Ganguly said, "Not just me, but the entire team should do well there," he said. "It will be a series between two good teams. Whoever plays well, will win."

Meanwhile, in an extraordinary attack on Ganguly, Raj Singh Dungarpur, manager of the touring Indian team, yesterday described him as the "laziest and possibly the worst fielder" of the side.

"Sourav is not a student of the game. He is also not a role model of a captain. A captain cannot be the laziest and possibly the worst fielder of the side," Dungarpur told television reporters in Lahore. He also claimed that John Wright, the former Indian cricket team coach, was frustated with the ways of Ganguly but could not get him removed as captain. "Wright was a little mild. He always had huge problems with Sourav."