Nagpur, Jan 19: The four-match series against the West Indies is the last lap in the World Cup tune-up for many in the Indian squad, but for former captain Sourav Ganguly it offers the ideal chance to display what the team was missing in the last 15 months in the 50-over game.
The Bengal stalwart has not played a one-day game for India since he led the side in the tri-series in Zimbabwe in September 2005, although he played in five Tests during the intervening period after losing his captaincy to Rahul
Dravid.
But the left-handed stylist, who forged one of one-day cricket's most successful combinations at the top of the order with Sachin Tendulkar, has always been looked upon as a better player in the shorter format than in Tests.
That's why his omission from the ODI team for such a lengthy gap has been somewhat inexplicable even while he played Test cricket.
All that has been put on the backburner as the former captain gets ready to re-establish his credentials and resurrect his one-day career in which he has amassed a whopping 10,123 runs in 279 matches, studded with 22 centuries and 60 fifties.
Ganguly's ability to clear the in-field while opening against fast bowlers and then step down the track to cart the slow bowlers over the ropes have earned him the admiration of many, besides also making him one of the foremost one-day players of his generation. (Agencies)