Chennai, Oct. 4: Sourav Ganguly’s chances of returning to the national team took a knock on Wednesday after he was left out of the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup tie.

Zaheer Khan got the nod ahead of Tamil Nadu’s Laxmipathy Balaji in the 14-member Rest side that will be led by Mumbai opener Wasim Jaffer against Ranji Trophy champions Uttar Pradesh at Nagpur from October 9 to 13.

Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar said the former Test captain still had a chance to make a comeback.

"Everybody, including Ganguly, who played in Challenger was discussed. Players like Ganguly, Balaji and a few others will be playing in zonal tournament and depending on their performances they will come in for contention," Vengsarkar said after the first meeting of the new selection committee here.