Ganguly: We have to learn to play without Tendulkar

"It is going to be a tough tour," began Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, stating the obvious. "New Zealand and Sri Lanka are both especially good One-Day sides and we have to play well to beat them," he continued, in the same vein, talking to pressmen at the 'Le Meredien' hotel in Chennai. Shortly before the team departed for Sri Lanka, the captain, coach and manager held a joint press conference on Monday.

As expected, the fact that Sachin Tendulkar would not be with the team for the first part of the tour held more attention than anything else. "Obviously we'll miss Tendulkar. A player of his class is tough to replace, but at least I'm happy he'll be back by the middle of the tour," said Ganguly. Talking about the injury, Ganguly went on to add, "these things happen in cricket and there's nothing you can do about it. One has to learn to play without any player, whether it's Tendulkar or someone else. That's the challenge."

The fact that Tendulkar played the final of the Coca-Cola Cup in Zimbabwe and soon after announced his injury raised a few eyebrows. Why was the injury not disclosed earlier, asked a few people. "He just scored a century in the game before the final and felt confident enough to play. Tendulkar is an experienced player and he felt good enough to play despite his niggling injury," answered Ganguly.

If Tendulkar's omission was a hot topic, his replacement Amay Khurasiya was another talking point. The flashy Madhya Pradesh southpaw makes a return to the team almost out of the blue. Ganguly however did not see things that way. "He's been doing very well in domestic cricket. Moreover I feel he's a more attacking player than either Shiv Sunder Das or Sadagoppan Ramesh and that is what you need in the One-Dayers," explained Ganguly. At the same time, Ganguly had a word of praise for Hemang Badani, "He's a good player and a bright prospect for Indian cricket. A great future investment for the team," said the skipper of his ward.

After taking over as the coach of the Indian team, John Wright will be up against his home side New Zealand for the first time in the forthcoming Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka. For the former Kiwi opener however, it was business as usual. "I don't think playing New Zealand will be any different from playing someone else. I'm more interested in seeing India beat New Zealand and Sri Lanka," said the coach. "After all, it's my job to help India win," ended Wright. When it was suggested that the Indian team lacked consistency, Wright was quick to reply. "I don't think you should look too much at individual performances. If the team keeps winning, then that's the most important thing. I don't really accept the statement that the Indian team is inconsistent," said Wright, putting an end to that line of questioning.

On the whole, the press conference was a routine affair, with captain and coach answering questions in a matter of fact way and without controversy. The one factor that gave the whole affair a formal air and even tension was the large number of policemen uniformed and otherwise hovering about the Indian captain. Ganguly, who was recently given Z-category security after threats from a militant group was escorted everywhere he went. With walkie-talkies buzzing and metal detectors all over the place one wondered if the security arrangements put additional pressure on the leader of the Indian side. "I'm under no pressure at all on account of the threats to my life," said Ganguly firmly. With Tendulkar out of action and Ganguly showing a glimmer of his old self, one certainly hopes he's right.