INDOOR CRICKET: With rain playing spoilsport Vaas finds time to play with Dilshan's son.

Colombo: Greg Chappell reaffirmed that being the Indian team coach was ``quite the biggest challenge.'' Speaking to the media, here, on Sunday, Chappell said he had put ``his blood, sweat and tears,'' into the job in a country where billions followed the game.

His comments assume significance in the light of his name being short-listed by the Australian Cricket Board for the National coach's job, once the present incumbent, John Buchanan, ends his tenure after the 2007 World Cup.

The Indian coach said he had stayed focussed on his role and held the Indian team and its captain Rahul Dravid in the highest regard. He believed that Team India was on the right path and added, when the time came, he would have a talk with Sharad Pawar (BCCI President) and Dravid regarding his future with the side.

Looking at the positives

The Indian coach admitted he was disappointed that inclement weather had permitted very little cricket in the competition. He looked at the positive side of the scenario, and said the players had time to introspect, look at avenues to improve, and focus on the mental aspect.

He said India would review the merits of the Dravid-Sachin Tendulkar opening combination according to the situation. He felt Tendulkar would now have an opportunity to become stronger before the tri-series in Malaysia and expected the pitches in Malaysia to be slow, enabling the team to prepare for the Champions Trophy and the World Cup in West Indies, which are likely to be played on similar tracks.

Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan said since he had already held the world record for the most number of Test wickets, recapturing it from Shane Warne was not really on top of his agenda. He said he had retained his motivational levels since ``one cannot live in the past.''

Vice-captain Kumara Sangakkara was appreciative of Mahela Jayawardene's leadership attributes and captaincy skills but said since he had secured the job following the injury to Marvan Atapattu, it was only logical that the latter would get it back once he regained fitness. ``Marvan is a leader and adds a lot to the side as a batsman,'' he said.

The wicketkeeper batsman also complimented senior cricketers Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas for being role models.Senior left-arm paceman Vaas said he had been working a lot on his batting too.

The emergence of all-rounder Fervez Maharoof has taken much pressure off him when it came to donning a dual role, he said.

Vaas had words of praise for India's left-arm pacemen Irfan Pathan and Rudra Pratap Singh. ``Both are promising,'' he said. He expressed confidence that Sri Lanka would regain the World Cup, in West Indies.

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