It was World Cup or bust for Sourav

LONDON, March 3: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who has made a dramatic return to international cricket, has revealed that he set himself a World Cup deadline in order to salvage his career. "I would have tried for a certain period of time," Ganguly said when asked if he'd ever thought of quitting during his time away from the Indian team. "I would have tried till the World Cup. If after that it (a recall) wouldn't have happened, probably I would have taken other decisions." Ganguly best captain of recent past: Dravid Ganguly not quitting after World Cup The 34-year-old left-hander lost his place after an acrimonious fall-out with coach Greg Chappell but regained his place in January and has not looked back. He hammered a robust 98 against the West Indies at Nagpur and was the top Indian scorer with 214 runs in a three-Test series in South Africa. Ganguly's triumphant return also solved India's major problem of finding effective openers in both forms of the game, especially after Virender Sehwag's slump. He then played a major role in his team winning the One-day home series against the West Indies, scoring 179 runs in three matches. He continued his form with knocks of 62, 48 and 58 in the series win over Sri Lanka. However, Ganguly, who skippered India to the runners-up spot at the last World Cup in 2003, played down his fairytale comeback. "I have changed my technique, a bit with my stance, a bit with my initial movement. I use a slightly lighter bat compared to my earlier days," he said in an interview to a magazine. Ganguly also insists that the prospect captaining the team again, one of the most demanding jobs in world cricket, does not interest him. He was briefly in charge when skipper Rahul Dravid and deputy Sachin Tendulkar were off the field in the recent series against the West Indies in Baroda. "I knew it would be for only 4-5 overs. So I was just trying to do a job that Rahul would have done. (But) it doesn't excite me anymore." Ganguly also said that his relationship with Chappell has improved. "A lot of things happened. But time heals everything. I've come back to the team and am performing, helping the team to win," he said. courtesy:timesofindia