"There will be no bias against any player, we will go purely by form," Vengsarkar told AFP a day after replacing Kiran More as chairman of India's five-man selection committee.

"Let me assure you I will not close the door on any player. My message to players is that only performance and fitness will matter if anyone is looking to make a comeback or wants to play for India.

"I am pretty clear that merit will be the only criteria. Get big runs if you are a batsman and big wickets if you are a bowler. Prove yourself in domestic cricket."

Ganguly was sacked as captain and later dropped from the national side by More's previous committee following unfavourable comments from coach Greg Chappell, who said Ganguly was a "disrupting influence" in the team.

The stylish left-hander, 34, has not played a one-day international since September last year and was dropped from the Test squad after the tour of Pakistan in February.

Ganguly dispelled speculation that he was going to retire from the game, insisting he was still good enough to play for his country and that he would show his form in domestic cricket this season.

The left-hander on Tuesday was handed a berth in the domestic Challenger one-day series in Chennai from October 1-4, a selection trial for the busy international season that culminates with the World Cup in the Caribbean next March.

He has not been selected for next month's Champions Trophy, but Ganguly is being regarded as a serious candidate for the tour of South Africa later this year and the World Cup, with the floundering Indian team having won just one of its last nine one-dayers.

He is one of only four batsmen in the world to score more than 10,000 runs in limited-overs cricket and has played in two World Cups, the last as captain in 2003 when India reached the final.