The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Yuvraj deserves his place: Sehwag

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Friday, Dec 23, 2005

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Yuvraj deserves his place: Sehwag

Sports Reporter

Says he isn't too concerned about Test rankings

Ahmedabad: Stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag said while he found it tough to return from illness, the senior members of the side had made his transition to captaincy smooth. After India outplayed Sri Lanka to win the three-Test series 2-0, Sehwag spoke to newsmen on issues that ranged from the seam on the SG Test ball to the forthcoming series of Pakistan.

Did he think Yuvraj Singh now deserved his place in the side on form alone? "He got some runs, and yes he deserves his place. He made a hundred in Pakistan when we were 60 or 70 for four. He is a talented player and he is in good form. Yes he deserves his place."

The Najafgarh resident said the only aspect of worry from the series was the opening partnership. "Our first area is opening. But our confidence is very high." What about his personal form? "I've been in good nick, getting 20s and 30s but not converting them into100s."

On whether not getting big runs bothered a batsman, Sehwag said, "It depends on the person concerned. I'm not too much of a thinker, I just go out and play. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have different mind-sets. I'm pretty cool but under a bit of pressure that I've not scored runs."

Sehwag said the difference in the ball might have made a slight difference to the outcome (in Sri Lanka, the Kookaburra is used while the SG Test is used in India). "The SG starts reversing after ten overs, and its seam is good for our spinners. The Kookaburra swings for 25 overs and then stops."

So how will the Indian spinners do in Pakistan, where the Kookaburra is the ball of choice? "Kumble and Harbhajan have played enough with it. They know how to get wickets with the Kookaburra also." When asked if the team will drop a spinner if the wickets suit the pacers, Sehwag said, "That's tough to do. Rahul Dravid will take that decision not me. He is the captain."

Seamer-friendly

On how Indian batsmen will cope if served seamer-friendly tracks, India's only triple centurion (309 at Multan) said, "We played them quite comfortably on flat tracks. If they give us seaming wickets they will also struggle. Their batsman are not technically sound."

Sehwag said Sri Lanka missed Sanath Jayasuriya, which suited India just fine. He also said the side wasn't too concerned about rankings when he was informed India will move to No. 2. "We just look at winning matches. If we win, the rankings will automatically go up."

Sri Lankan coach Tom Moody said the lack of `killer instinct' had cost his side, which had, however, gained the experience of playing quality spin bowlers on this tour. "What we saw hopefully was the birth of a new opener (Upul Tharanga). He showed fine technique and temperament. The morale in the team is still very high, which is a huge positive."

Moody's take

Moody said Pakistan would start `slight favourites' in the upcoming series against India. "They (Pakistan) are a strong emerging side. If they go in all fit, they will be slight favourites."

"Looking back at it, I would put it down to the chances we've been given but haven't capitalised on," said Sri Lankan skipper Atapattu on the three-match series, which began in wet Chennai. "In Delhi and here we had them in a spot of bother. But that's not to take anything away from the Indian tail which played Murali very well."

Moody reckoned his team had `not been thrashed'. "We had India on the ropes in all three Test matches. It's never easy batting against quality spinners early on, and the new batsman found it hard to adjust to. We only played half a game in Delhi and here. We need to compete for the full five days, not just two and a half."

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