Gaekwad praises youngsters in the team

India has a good chance of winning the Coca Cola Trophy tri-series at Sharjah, starting from Friday, coach Anshuman Gaekwad said before the team's departure from Bombay on Thursday morning.

"If we field like we did in Nairobi and bat and bowl sensibly, I don't see why we can't win the trophy.

"As I had said before, we have got some talented youngsters in the team who can deliver the goods along with the seniors, and things can get only better from now on," he added.

The former India Test opener spoke highly about the youngsters in the team. "These youngsters are not only talented they are very keen learners and are pushy, which helps me to guide them in the right direction," he said.

Gaekwad felt the wickets will be similar to the ones at Nairobi. "We will be playing on wickets similar to that of Nairobi except that the ground at Sharjah is bigger and not as fast. In fact, as the tournament progress the wickets get slower and starts turning as well, which was not the case in Nairobi," he added.

He said he is looking forward to India winning the title. "I would like to see my boys win before I bid goodbye to the coaching assignment.

"Though our opponents in this series are not as formidable as the ones in Nairobi, we are not taking the Lankans or, for that matter, the Zimbabweans (the other two teams in the fray) lightly," he said.

Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said the team is totally focused and looking forward to a good tournament.

India play Sri Lanka in the tournament opener on Friday.

Following is the schedule:

Oct 20: India vs Sri Lanka.
Oct 21: Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka.
Oct 22: India vs Zimbabwe.
Oct 23: Rest day.
Oct 24: Rest day.
Oct 25: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe.
Oct 26: Zimbabwe vs India.
Oct 27: India vs Sri Lanka.
Oct 28: Rest day.
Oct 29: Final.

Mail Cricket Editor