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Indian squad arrives

Port Of Spain: The Indian cricket team arrived here for a limited-over series against the West Indies, starting on Saturday.

Smartly dressed in tees and trousers, the Indian players landed around 8.30 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday at the Piarco International Airport here and were received by officials of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) and sponsor Digicel.

The Suresh Raina-led Indian side looked tired and exhausted after its long flight from Mumbai via London and Barbados.

Even though he looked tired and sleepless, Raina exuded confidence that his young team would do whatever it takes to win the lone Twenty20 game and the five-match ODI series.

“It's a young side. The players want to do well for the country and themselves. They are extremely motivated,” said Raina. Vice-captain Harbhajan Singh said the starless Indian team would not be short of motivation in the series, irrespective of its hectic schedule.

“These are young boys who are looking to build a career. I don't think fatigue would be a factor,” said the off-spinner.

Team manager Amitabh Chowdhary said that irrespective of the long flight, the side would hold its practice sessions as scheduled.

Tickets sold out

The tickets for the one-off T20 match has already been sold out and the ticket sales for the first two ODIs are also going on at a brisk pace.

Interestingly, the response for the matches is a welcome surprise as both the sides are bereft of star value.

The West Indies, meanwhile, are without explosive Chris Gayle and pace duo of Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach.

When India last toured the Caribbean Islands in 2006 under Rahul Dravid, the side scripted history by beating the home team (1-0 in a four-match rubber) in a Test series for the first time in 35 years.

However, the team will certainly look to change the 1-4 thrashing it got in the five-match ODI series then. — PTI

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