Lahore: He may have been dethroned from the hot seat but Sourav Ganguly said on Tuesday that being stripped of captaincy will not diminish his motivation to do well for his country in the three-Test series against Pakistan.
With just a little over two days left for the first Test match to begin even his place in the team is not sure as Yuvraj Singh is giving him a tough competition for a position in the middle order.
Ganguly downplayed the fact that he was no longer the captain saying that playing for the country was the bigger motivating factor and leadership was only a bonus.
"It doesn't matter that I am not the captain on this visit. It's the same bunch of boys who are here. Whether you are the captain or not, playing for the country is the biggest motivation. Captaincy is only a bonus," he said.
The Bengal left-hander, whose controversial omission from the last Test played by India at Ahmedabad against Sri Lanka had created an unprecedented uproar, said it was important for the team to play with the same intensity they showed last time around in 2004.
"I think we need to play with the same intensity like last time to win the series," he said.
Ganguly, who joined his teammates a day later on January 7 after playing in the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy league, said his only aim was to perform well.
"When I came here last time, I wanted to perform well and my aim is the same this time around too."
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