Ganguly: We have to learn to play without Tendulkar
Anand Vasu - 16 July 2001
"It is going to be a tough tour," began Indian captain Sourav Ganguly,
stating the obvious. "New Zealand and Sri Lanka are both especially
good One-Day sides and we have to play well to beat them," he
continued, in the same vein, talking to pressmen at the 'Le Meredien'
hotel in Chennai. Shortly before the team departed for Sri Lanka, the
captain, coach and manager held a joint press conference on Monday.
As expected, the fact that Sachin Tendulkar would not be with the team
for the first part of the tour held more attention than anything else.
"Obviously we'll miss Tendulkar. A player of his class is tough to
replace, but at least I'm happy he'll be back by the middle of the
tour," said Ganguly. Talking about the injury, Ganguly went on to add,
"these things happen in cricket and there's nothing you can do about
it. One has to learn to play without any player, whether it's
Tendulkar or someone else. That's the challenge."
The fact that Tendulkar played the final of the Coca-Cola Cup in
Zimbabwe and soon after announced his injury raised a few eyebrows.
Why was the injury not disclosed earlier, asked a few people. "He just
scored a century in the game before the final and felt confident
enough to play. Tendulkar is an experienced player and he felt good
enough to play despite his niggling injury," answered Ganguly.
If Tendulkar's omission was a hot topic, his replacement Amay
Khurasiya was another talking point. The flashy Madhya Pradesh
southpaw makes a return to the team almost out of the blue. Ganguly
however did not see things that way. "He's been doing very well in
domestic cricket. Moreover I feel he's a more attacking player than
either Shiv Sunder Das or Sadagoppan Ramesh and that is what you need
in the One-Dayers," explained Ganguly. At the same time, Ganguly had a
word of praise for Hemang Badani, "He's a good player and a bright
prospect for Indian cricket. A great future investment for the team,"
said the skipper of his ward.
After taking over as the coach of the Indian team, John Wright will be
up against his home side New Zealand for the first time in the
forthcoming Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka. For the former Kiwi opener
however, it was business as usual. "I don't think playing New Zealand
will be any different from playing someone else. I'm more interested
in seeing India beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka," said the coach.
"After all, it's my job to help India win," ended Wright. When it was
suggested that the Indian team lacked consistency, Wright was quick to
reply. "I don't think you should look too much at individual
performances. If the team keeps winning, then that's the most
important thing. I don't really accept the statement that the Indian
team is inconsistent," said Wright, putting an end to that line of
questioning.
On the whole, the press conference was a routine affair, with captain
and coach answering questions in a matter of fact way and without
controversy. The one factor that gave the whole affair a formal air
and even tension was the large number of policemen uniformed and
otherwise hovering about the Indian captain. Ganguly, who was recently
given Z-category security after threats from a militant group was
escorted everywhere he went. With walkie-talkies buzzing and metal
detectors all over the place one wondered if the security arrangements
put additional pressure on the leader of the Indian side. "I'm under
no pressure at all on account of the threats to my life," said Ganguly
firmly. With Tendulkar out of action and Ganguly showing a glimmer of
his old self, one certainly hopes he's right.
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