While speaking to the media, Ganguly said that he has already told his teammates about his decision. Moreover, he also warned his team mates not to take Australia lightly. The former Indian captain considers Ricky Ponting’s squad as formidable opponents.

The first test between India and Australia will take place in Bangalore on Thursday (October 9). The rest of the matches would take place in Mohali, New Delhi and Nagpur. Ganguly is India’s most successful Test captain with 21 victories in 49 matches. A prolific all rounder, Sourav has made 6,888 runs in 109 Tests with 15 centuries, and 11,363 runs in 311 one-day internationals with 22 centuries.

The 36-year-old left-handed batsman, was under pressure as he had scored only 96 runs in his last Test series in Sri Lanka. Despite such a failure, the selectors kept faith in the ’Bengal tiger’ for the initial matches. Ganguly was ignored for the five-day Irani Cup match that ended on September 27. Though this match was a trial game for the Australian series, Ganguly’s absence in the series led to speculation regarding his inclusion in the forthcoming series against Aussies. Ganguly, who has an average of 31.73 in 20 Tests against Australia along with just one century, has an overall average of 41.74.