Slogans of 'India Zindabad', 'Pakistan Zindabad' and 'India, Pakistan are friends' were heard as the KCCA officials garlanded every member of the Indian contingent. Skipper Sachin Tendulkar found himself in trap of flash guns, microphones and tape-recorders as the media people tried to get hold of him. During that period, former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin sneaked through with his film-actress wife and former Miss India, Sangeeta Bijlani.
Outside the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport, people queued in discipline to catch a glimpse of the Indians and show the respect they have for them. As promised, high-class security was present which escorted the Indians to their hotel. The Indians leave for Hyderabad for the first game of the three-match series early Saturday morning by road. Although Sachin Tendulkar lacked the flair shown earlier in the morning by South African skipper Hansie Cronje, emphasised that his team was determined to play good cricket here. ``We have come here to play good cricket and hope to perform well and win in all the three games,'' said Tendulkar. ``There is absolutely no pressure on us despite the victory in Sahara Cup which I think was a result which no one had anticipated. I just hope that we play to the best of our abilities.''
Tendulkar said his team would not underestimate the Pakistanis who will be without Ramiz Raja, Salim Malik, Aamir Sohail and Wasim Akram. ``We are not over-confident or complacent but we feel that we have good chances in the series.'' ``We always consider Pakistan as good rivals (on-the-field). It is a good satisfaction to play against them because they are a competitive team,'' said Tendulkar who is trying to adjust into the shoe of Mohammad Azharuddin, his predecessor.
Tendulkar admitted that Waqar Younis's return to the team will definitely affect the performance of the Pakistan side. ``He is a world-class bowler with a lot of wickets under his cap. He has won many matches for Pakistan. But when he plays against us, we treat him as one of the tough guys from the Pakistan team.'' ``There is no fast bowler whom I fear,'' was a strong reaction from Tendulkar when asked if he still remembers the Sialkot match in which Waqar Younis broke his nose.
Tendulkar, 24, urged the Pakistan spectators just to enjoy the game. ``The matches should be treated as matches and nothing else.'' Tendulkar hoped that the Inzamamul Haq incident in Toronto will not have any bearing on the forthcoming matches. ``I stress that the spectators should consider matches as just matches and nothing else.'' Tendulkar said he was having a great feeling to come here for the second time. ``In 1989-90, I came here as the junior-most member when I was 17. Now I am one of the senior most cricketers, and, in fact, the captain. I am somewhat under pressure. Now I have to handle my young players exactly the way I was handled by my seniors on my first tour abroad. ``In addition to this, I also have to groom them. It is very tough. There is a lot of responsibility on me,'' he said.
Tendulkar said he had really enjoyed when he came here the last time. ``The hospitality was fantastic and I specially enjoyed the food here and I am looking forward to it once again.'' The master batsman opined that there was nothing wrong with the relation between the two countries. ``They are fine as far as I am concerned. ``If the two countries are not exchanging tours, then it is the problem of the two boards and not mine. I am not the one who finalises series's. My job is to play cricket. ``I think we have been playing reasonably good number of cricket. Yes, the spectators love to see us in action whether it may be in India or Pakistan and we would have to do that. But it is the board which decides and who takes the final decision,'' said Tendulkar.
Asked if he was missing his strike bowlers Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad, Tendulkar said: ``When you have these 14 players, you shouldn't be thinking about someone else. I would rather try to be focused with the players I have rather than start thinking that I am missing someone.''
Tendulkar refused to comment when asked if he would like to have a little more say in the selection of his team. The charismatic batsman, it may be recalled, had expressed his unhappiness when the selectors dropped notable players Vinod Kambli and Nayan Mongia for the tour of Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup and Test series.
Tendulkar refuted claims that his captaincy was under threat before the Sahara Cup. ``I never thought my captaincy was under pressure. As far as I am concerned, I want to perform with the bat and score runs whether I am the captain or not.''
The Indian team comprises: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Ajay Jadeja (vice-captain), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Vinod Kambli, Saba Karim (wicketkeeper), Rajesh Chauhan, Abey Kuruvilla, Harvinder Singh, Robin Singh, Dabashish Mohanty, Nilesh Kulkarni and Hrishinkesh Kanitkar. Cricket Manager: Madan Lal.