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Photo: V. Sudershan

For the young lot Stuart Law

Former Australian batsman Stuart Law feels that the current Indian team has a lot of talent and cannot be taken for granted. Speaking on the sidelines of the Indian Cricket League camp at Lahari Resorts near Hyderabad, 39-year-old Law, who played one Test and 54 ODIs for Australia before becoming a British citizen, expressed the belief that this Indian team is capable of surprising Australians on the forthcoming tour.

“There is rich experience and class in the squad and Indians cannot be dismissed as push-overs. They are capable of pulling off an upset,” says the Aussie, who is here with the Chennai Lions in the ICL.

“It will be a shame if the BCCI loses young talent which will be gaining rich experience by playing with some of the internationals in the ICL. I am optimistic that the BCCI will eventually embrace these youngsters, if they come up with outstanding performances,” Law said.

Commenting on South African Allan Donald’s observation that Australians might be more vulnerable once the big guns of the current side retire, Law admitted that the former was spot on. “It is a fact. But the truth now in international cricket is that there is a huge gap between Australians and the rest of the cricketing world. Even if the Australians play in third gear, they still win tournaments and series,” he remarked.

On the ICL, Law like many of those who joined it, feel that it is exciting. And that the Twenty-20 format has come to stay, if nurtured well and public support continued. “This is great as the result will come about in just three hours,” he added. “I don’t think age will be a criterion in this format. We all know how to train our bodies for this intense competition. Personally, I believe that to be a successful cricketer, it is not just skills that matter but mental toughness and physical fitness which overtake ability,” he explained.

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who will lead the Hyderabad Heroes team in the ICL, also believes that the Twenty-20 format is the right one for him. When asked where he would place the ICL once the Indian Premier League of BCCI is launched, the Pakistani retorted: “They should be concerned about how ICL will affect the IPL.”

“Personally, I believe that no cricketer of any national team should write a column on the on-going series or for that matter on any subject. This is bound to hurt the sentiments of his teammates as there will be obviously some comments on their performances. However, any individual after a great performance can be allowed to interact with the media to share his hour of glory,” Inzamam said. “I liked the concept of ICL for the simple reason it offers a rare opportunity of playing with different players from across the world,” he added.

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

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