Ganguly suprised at Sreesanth''s omission from World Cup squad

Kolkata, Jan 17 (PTI) With the selectors opting for aspin-oriented side for the World Cup, former India captainSourav Ganguly today said he was surprised to see in-formpacer S Sreesanth overlooked from the 15-man squad.

Ganguly termed it a gamble to pick only one wicketkeeperin skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the extravaganza that willcontinue in the subcontinent for about 40 days.

The selectors picked the World Cup squad in Chennai todayas they chose to include four medium pacers in Zaheer Khan,Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel, while for thewicketkeeper''s slot they picked only Dhoni while ignoringParthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha.

"It was a gamble by the selectors to pick onewicketkeeper in Dhoni. If he picks up an injury during theWorld Cup and is unable to keep, then who will stand behindthe wicket?" Ganguly wondered questioning the selectors''decision.

The IPL discard also criticised the decision to ignoreSreesanth who had a memorable Test series in South Africa.

"It''s really surprising to see Sreesanth out of the sidedespite his recent form and performance," he said here.

The exclusion of middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma alsoraised a few questions but Ganguly said the decision did notsurprise him.

"He (Sharma) is a talented player. But it seems aftergetting enough chances he failed to gain the selectors''confidence. You have to perform at top level to get noticed.

But he got many chances unlike many other talented youngstersbut failed to impress." .