For Javagal Srinath, a chance to play in the World Cup -- his fourth in succession -- is the fulfilment of a deep desire for which he is grateful to skipper Sourav Ganguly.

Srinath, who announced his retirement from Test cricket after the tour of West Indies last year, was left out of the one-day team before being recalled in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka on Ganguly's insistence.

And Ganguly's trust was not misplaced. Srinath was India's best bowler in New Zealand and has carried the same form in the ongoing World Cup.

"It was a call that I wanted [to hear]. It was good of my captain to call me back," Srinath said ahead of India's Group A league match against Namibia in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.

"I was very specific about my desire to play in this World Cup."

Srinath was quite satisfied with his performance but said his batting needed some improvement.

"I am getting my line and length right. There comes a time when experience becomes confidence. That probably helps you in keeping your minds steady," he said.

"[But] I need to give more thought to my batting before it is too late. My batting against West Indies [at home] cannot be taken too seriously."

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What do you think about the story? Read what others have to say: Number of User Comments: 9 Sub: Hats off Hats off to the Indian team the way they are sticking together as a team - when all so-called "experts" are going after them and ... Posted by Kanad Sub: why so humble Srinath needs to be more assertive. There is no need to be so humble. After all, Ganguly was not doing him any personal favours - ... Posted by jsreedhar Sub: ganguly's help the senior cricketers and the media are all after ganguly's neck and not ready to oblige how much he has done for the team.had he ... Posted by ankita jain Sub: Best We Have World Cup without Srinath would have been a major disaster for india. He is the best bowler we have and the selectors were very cruel ... Posted by Edwin Sub: absolutely great news... i hope all the big-shots in india would be as humble and down-to-earth as our best fast bowler srinath, only shows the excellent rapport between ... Posted by sunnyfrancis