Ganguly confident of making World Cup semis
Onkar Singh
Sourav Ganguly strongly believes India will make it to the semi-finals in the World Cup, to be held in South Africa from February 9 to March 23, 2003.
The India captain made this observation while addressing a news conference in Delhi on the eve of team's departure for New Zealand, where it will play two Tests and seven one-day internationals.
He said the youngsters in the team, particularly Virender Shewag, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh, are doing extremely well, and if they continue to perform in the same vein along with senior colleagues Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and himself then India certainly has a reasonable chance of emerging champions.
"If you go by current performance, then India, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia should be able to make it to the semi-finals. But it all depends upon how the teams perform during the 45 days of the tournament. Australia is in a good form; so is South Africa. Both India and Pakistan too have done well in the last one year or so and have won their matches," he said.
He did not agree with a suggestion that Tendulkar should open the innings during the World Cup.
"Sachin Tendulkar has a great record as an opener and could fit into any place. Right now Shewag is striking the ball very well and there is no reason why he should be replaced. However, this issue is not closed and we can always think of an alternative. The basic idea of sending Sachin at number four is because he is a batsman, capable of taking pressure should there be a collapse in the early stages," he opined.
Asked why the team management continues to put extra pressure on Rahul Dravid by asking him to do perform the dual role of wicketkeeper-batsman, Ganguly said: "Keeping his performance in mind it would be unfair to term him as a makeshift wicketkeeper. He has taken the pressure very well; he has performed both as wicketkeeper and batsman. In fact, he has solved one of our major problems and that is why we have been able to accommodate an extra batsman.
"Keeping in mind that injuries can happen, we have decided to have Parthiv Patel as specialist wicketkeeper in the side for the World Cup."
Talking about his own performance, he said, "It is nice to hear that I have a good record as a captain. But, as Sachin would say, it is better to be part of the winning team and then look at one's own achievements. I agree with him."
Complimenting the West Indies on winning the just-concluded one-day series in India, he said:
"They played exceptional cricket. Chris Gayle, Sarwan, Carl Hooper... they all played well. It is nice to see the West Indian side back in business."
He denied that the Indian team is lacking in the bowling department.
"Our bowlers have done a splendid job in the one-day series. We defended 268 against South Africa in Sri Lanka; we got England out for 260 in Sri Lanka; we got the Sri Lankan team out for 224 in Sri Lanka. I can tell you that we are doing pretty well in this field as well," he claimed.
"It is not easy to defend small totals on Indian grounds because the pitches are good and the ball comes on nicely to the bat. When I bat I can feel the difference. So sometimes the bowlers have a difficult task on their hands and it is not easy to bowl in the first 15 overs, especially when the opponents are hitting you all around," he added.
Asked why Srinath has not been included in the team for the New Zealand tour, he informed that Srinath has some injuries and needs rest.
"It is better that he rests now and is fit for the World Cup. Zaheer Khan is doing an admirable job with the ball as a fast bowler. I must mention that though our team is young we will do well in the World Cup despite the pressures. The youngsters have performed under pressure in recent months so I guess they would be able to take the pressures in the World Cup matches as well," he said.
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