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Indian team to redraft strategy at camp 12 May 2001
The six-day cricket coaching camp for the Indian probables, starting in Bangalore on Sunday ahead of the coming Zimbabwe tour, is expected to be an indepth exercise in redrafting the strategy to end the country's victory drought overseas. The camp, in preparation for the tour commencing from May 28, has assumed significance as it comes against the backdrop of India's stupendous home Test series win over Australia. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has named 26 probables, virtually retaining all those who played against Australia. The selectors are expected to meet in Mumbai on May 17 to pick a 15-member squad for the tour. Skipper Sourav Ganguly, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and the new batting star VVS Laxman are among those picked for the camp. Harbhajan Singh, who played a key role in India's success against Australia, Virendra Shewag and Yuvaraj Singh would be keen to impress the selectors during the camp, expected to lay emphasis on physical fitness of the players. Notable among those omitted are Nayan Mongia and speedster Venkatesh Prasad. Ace leg spinner Anil Kumble, who has returned from Johensburg after undergoing a surgery to his shoulder, is back at the nets, but is unavailable for the Zimbabwe tour. Indian coach John Wright, who played a key role in shaping the side in recent times, has already gone on record saying he would involve players, selectors and team managers in a thorough introspection to find out the reasons for the country's failure when it plays away from home. The camp would also focus on the need to address the problem posed by a long Indian tail. Besides the Test series, India will play in a triangular one-day series involving Zimbabwe and West Indies. Wright and Andrew Leipus, the physio of the Indian team, have already arrived, while the probables were all expected to reach Bangalore by Saturday evening. The following are the probables: Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Sundar Das, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Virendra Shewag, Dinesh Mongia, Samir Dighe, Ajay Ratra, Das Gupta, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Harvinder Singh, Ashish Nehra, Debashish Mohanty, Rakesh Patel, RS Sodhi, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Rahul Sanghvi and Sairaj Bahutale. © PTI
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