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 Jaipur, Oct 14: Irfan Pathan may end up warming the bench once again as India looks to field a two-pronged spin attack against England in their opening match of the Champions Trophy here tomorrow.
Captain Rahul Dravid said today that the team would give weight to India's past record against the visitors and the conditions before finalising the playing eleven but playing two spinners was an option they were looking at.
Pathan, who has been struggling for form with the ball in recent times, was dropped from the Test team on the tour of the West Indies in May-July and from the one-day team during the tri-series in Malaysia last month. In a warm-up game here, Pathan was carted for 83 runs in 10
overs.
 Dravid also said the batting combinations tried out in the warm-up game was no indication of what was to come in the matches ahead.
"What happens with players like Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni is they play at 5, 6 and 7, and sometimes they go without getting enough batting. We wanted to give them an opportunity to bat in match conditions," he said.
He said the team was not unduly worried about the "shaky start" it has had to the season and was confident about being a "force to reckon with" in the Champions Trophy. (Agencies)
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