Lahore: Openers Gautam Gambhir and Wasim Jaffer appear to have been made the sacrificial lambs in the soap-opera involving Sourav Ganguly.
The former India captain, who was controversially left out of the third Test against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad and then included in the Pakistan tour squad after he met BCCI President Sharad Pawar in New Delhi, was initially included as an opener in the opening Test against Pakistan.
Later on the team management clarified that Ganguly will not open the innings but come lower down the order.
But the inclusion of the Bengal stalwart in the team was not at the expense of Yuvraj Singh but Jaffer who probably would have got the nod ahead of Gambhir but for the Ganguly factor.
Meanwhile Indian cricket board supremo Sharad Pawar said the board did not play any role in the decision to include Ganguly in the squad.
"What nonsense? It's a decision of the captain, coach and the manager. BCCI has nothing to do with it," he said.
A team official also said that Ganguly's inclusion in the team for the first cricket Test was not because of any pressure from the BCCI top brass.
The official said the decision to include Ganguly was taken after the team management assessed the conditions at the Gaddafi stadium.
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