Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly retires

Sourav Ganguly is one of India's most successful captains

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has decided not to play in next year's Indian Premier League (IPL) and to retire from the game.

Ganguly, 40, said that to continue playing would be "very tough for the body".

Considered one of India's most successful captains, Ganguly quit international cricket in 2008 but continued playing in the IPL.

He scored more than 18,500 runs in Tests and one-day internationals.

"I had a wonderful time playing in the IPL for five seasons. It gave me a chance to keep playing top-class cricket even after quitting international cricket. But I can't go on forever," Ganguly told The Times of India.

He was contracted to play next year for the Pune Warriors.

After retiring from international cricket he continued to play in tournaments such as the IPL and Ranji Trophy for his home state West Bengal.

Ganguly's decision will bring to a close the former captain's 21-year career, during which he led India to the 2003 World Cup final, where they were beaten by Australia.

Wisden ranked him the sixth greatest one-day international batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Dean Jones and Michael Bevan.