Cricket

Ganguly to retire after Australia series

Sourav Ganguly has announced he will retire after the upcoming Test series against Australia.

“This will be my last series,” said Ganguly at the end of a routine press conference in Bangalore. “Before coming here I spoke to my team-mates and hopefully I will go out with a winning knock.”

Ganguly, 36, has scored 6,888 runs in 109 Tests, with 15 hundreds. He played Tests 49 as captain, the most by an Indian. The 21 matches won during his tenure is also an Indian record, and his win percentage of over 40 is the highest for players who have captained India in more than one Test.

Kris Srikkanth, head of India’s new selection panel, said Ganguly had made the right decision. “I think Sourav Ganguly has been an excellent player,” he said. “He has brought so many laurels as captain and player.

“He had a good chat with me and [fellow selector] Narendra Hirwani. He wants a peaceful series without any troubles on his mind. I hope he goes out with couple of hundreds. Ganguly was one of the best captains the world has ever produced and I think he deserves it.”

Tags: Australia, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008, India, india australia series, sourav ganguly