The inaugural Asia-Africa cricket series to be played in South Africa later this month was plunged into controversy on Tuesday when former India captain Sourav Ganguly protested at his omission.
Ganguly, only 33 runs away from becoming the third batsman after compatriot Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan's Inzamamul Haq to score 10,000 one-day runs, said he was "disgusted" at being left out of the 15-man Asia squad.
"It is a raw deal," Ganguly told reporters in this Buddhist town which is hosting a tri-series between India, Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
"I may not have scored in my four one-dayers this year, but does anybody's selection anywhere depend on four matches?
"What about the nearly 10,000 one-day runs I have got? Dont they have value? Am I always to be the whipping boy?
"I am disgusted."
The made-for-television Asia versus Africa one-dayers, granted official status by the International Cricket Council, will be played in Centurion, Pretoria on August 17 and at Kingsmead, Durban on August 20 and 21.
Both squads were announced on Monday night.
The Asian squad, captained by Inzamam, includes six Pakistanis, four each from India and Sri Lanka and one Bangladeshi.
Ganguly, replaced as India captain by Rahul Dravid after being banned for slow over-rates against Pakistan in April, said Inzamam deserved to lead Asia.
The Asian selection panel included Majid Khan of Pakistan, Ravi Shastri of India, Graeme Labrooy of Sri Lanka and Shafiq-ul Haque of Bangladesh, none of whom currently serve on their respective national selection committees.
AFRICA: Graeme Smith, Shaun Pollock, Boeta Dippenaar, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, Albie Morkel, Mark Boucher, Monde Zondeki, Jacques Rudolph, Nicky Boje, Justin Ontong, Dale Steyn (all SOUTH AFRICA: Steve Tikolo, Collins Obuya, Thomas Odoyo (Kenya); Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu, Andy Blignaut (Zimbabwe).
ASIA: Inzamamul Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Naveedul Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan); Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble (India); Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka); Mohammad Ashraful (Bangladesh).
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