India skipper Sourav Ganguly, recuperating after a painful abscess on the left thigh, declared he is keen to play the November 12 tri-series match against Australia in Bangalore.
Ganguly, who had an hour-long session at the Pankaj Gupta indoor coaching centre gymnasium of the Cricket Association of Bengal, said, "I am keen to play the November 12 match. I still have some weakness in the muscles, but nothing else."
Accompanied by senior national selector Pranab Roy, Ganguly also had some catching practice and knocking at the net following light exercise at the gymnasium.
To a question, Ganguly said he is satisfied with the performance of the Indian team in the ongoing tri-series.
The dashing southpaw, who started training on Tuesday, has been cleared for the November 12 match by the six-member medical board, formed to treat him.
"He is doing exceedingly well and recovering fast. We have advised him physiotherapy as part of his rehabilitation program," Dr Mrinmoy Nandy, member of the medical board, said.
He said five of the six stitches on the left thigh have been removed and the remaining one would be cut before he leaves for Bangalore on November 9.
"The remaining stitch will, in fact, help him during physiotherapy and will not be a problem," he said.
Ganguly had undergone surgical procedures twice in five days for the abscess and missed India's engagements since the second and last Test against New Zealand at Mohali last month.
The first surgical procedure to remove the abscess was in Mohali on October 14. He was again put under the surgeon's scalpel on October 18 at a private nursing home in Kolkata to clean and trim the wound before being discharged on October 26.
