TNN
 
New Delhi, Oct 9: "I was tired of being humiliated again and again. I don't want to play cricket at the mercy of others," Sourav Ganguly said in an interview published in a Bengali daily on Wednesday. The interview was given right after the former India captain announced his decision on Tuesday to quit from all forms of international cricket after the India-Australia series.

Pouring his heart out, India's most successful Test captain and most successful left-handed batsman said that it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to put up with the constant humiliation. "It doesn't make sense to play cricket like this. I have played enough cricket."

Ganguly had scored heavily in Test cricket after his comeback in 2006, barring the recent away series against Sri Lanka. He wondered why he was the only player being targeted all the time. "Everything is possible in Indian cricket. When Greg (Chappell) chopped me, TP Singh (of Railways and now with the ICL) was my replacement. Where is he now," he asked.

A sarcastic Ganguly then went on to say, "There are players who haven't scored for last three series for India, even for the last one year. There are some who have changed their hairstyle more than they have scored for India."

The former Indian captain admitted that the decision to quit had hurt him emotionally.

He went on to say that being on constant trial had hurt him emotionally. "I am bound to feel bad. I had to fight with my heart. If there is a gun to your head all the time, how long can you bear this? After all, I have played 400 matches for India. I have played badly in only one series. Yet every Tom, Dick and Harry is playing in the team."

When Ganguly was asked about choosing the Ashtami Day for making his decision public, he replied, "I thought of ending all miseries before Durga Puja. There's too much confusion. People are double-faced and I can't take it anymore.

"I thought a lot before reaching this decision. I have also thought about my plans for the next one year. If this committee had come three years earlier, the situation would have been slightly better for me. I didn't expect to be chopped from the Irani Trophy team. I was really hurt by this incident."

The earlier selection committee led by Dilip Vengsarkar had dropped Ganguly from the Rest of India squad. He was retained in the Test team by the new selection committee led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth.