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Railways all-rounder J P Yadav will make his international debut tomorrow when India take on West Indies in the series opening one-dayer here. “You will see him on the ground tomorrow,” Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly said today while announcing the final eleven for tomorrow’s game. Ganguly said V V S Laxman will play in place of injured Sachin Tendulkar who has been ruled out of the seven-match series following a hamstring muscle pull during the third and final Test in
Kolkata.
Speedster Javagal Srinath, left-hand batsman Dinesh Mongia and Yadav’s Railway teammate Sanjay Bangar will sit out the match, Ganguly said. Asked about Srinath’s exclusion, Ganguly said “I want to give a chance to new boys like Yadav. Yadav played very well in the Irani Cup match”. Yadav was also picked in the team for the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka last month but did not get to play a match. Ganguly said there would be no change in the batting order and Laxman will bat in place of Tendulkar. “All those in the team will play in the same position as they were playing earlier. Of course, Sachin is not there and in his place Laxman will play."
“Since Sachin is not there, it provides a good opportunity for Laxman to show his class," he said. Ganguly said the newly-laid track at the Keenan stadium here “had a lot of cracks. It’s not that bad but we have asked the groundsmen to do some good rolling," he said. The skipper said the pitch was entirely different from the one India had played on against South Africa here two years ago. “Then the wicket was reddish in colour," he said. Ganguly was visibly annoyed when reminded that India had been inflicted a crushing 104-run defeat by West Indies the last time the two team played at this venue.
“That was a long time ago. Just because West Indies had got 333 then does not mean that they will do it here this time too. Or that they won't do it this time," he said. Asked about the team's morale after the convincing victory in Test series, Ganguly said the team was obviously in a positive frame of mind but pointed out that West Indies would be a much stronger opponent in the one-dayers. “This is altogether a different game. It’s a long series of seven matches. We will take one game at a time," he said. He admitted that a seven-match series was a bit tough on the players.
“India is a big country with many states. We have to accept things as they are. But yes, such hectic touring does take a toll on the players," he said. On batsman Ricardo Powell, who is one of the three changes in the West Indian side for the one-day series, Ganguly said, “He is a very good batsman. But he is coming back after a long break. Lets see how he plays." Ganguly said he was looking forward to the New Zealand tour starting next month as it was a very important assignment just ahead of the World Cup in South Africa next year. |
