'The team has moved on from the World Cup

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Indian captain puts faith in young pace bowlers

'The team has moved on from the World Cup' - Dravid

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

June 16, 2007

Rahul Dravid is confident his side can do well this summer AFP

Rahul Dravid, the Indian captain, has insisted that his side has got over the World Cup disappointment and is ready for the forthcoming tour of Ireland and England, starting in a week's time. He was confident that his young bowling attack would stand up to the challenge in Tests and said there was no point harping on the coach issue.

"The team has moved on from the World Cup," said Dravid on the final day of the conditioning camp in Bangalore, looking ahead to the one-day series against South Africa in Ireland, beginning on June 26. "There are a lot of challenges to look forward to and England is a great place to tour.

"South Africa are the No.2 one-day side in the world, they've had some very good results of late. They tend to play well at home but this is a neutral venue. We've got players who can do well but we got to play some good cricket."

While India's one-day squad was along expected lines it was the Test squad with a couple of new faces in the bowling department which is expected to face a severe examination during the English summer. "People say that the fast bowling unit doesn't have the experience but there's not much we can do," he said when asked about rookies Ranadeb Bose and Ishant Sharma. "Injuries happen, it's part of the sport. From the fast bowlers available in the country, the best ones were selected. This is going to be a learning curve for those boys and there's no better place to learn than England.

"If there's any tour where you want to take some young bowlers on, this is the one. It's important they learn very quickly in conditions which might help the kind of bowlers they are - swing and seam. I hope that come the first Test, we have a set of fast bowlers who are firing."'

Dravid seemed to have reconciled to Graham Ford's decision to not take up the Indian coaching job. "If someone does not want to do the job, it's not a lost opportunity," he said. "Coming to a place like India, you've got to be 100% sure you want to do it - it takes a lot of patience, drive, energy. If he had second doubts, it's right not to come here. It's not a lost opportunity because the person who comes here has to have the drive and energy."

He suggested that the team needed someone who could take the pressure off the players with regard to the off-field activities - "You can call him cricket manager or administrative manager" - but said that it was the captain and the players who were responsible once the match started. "As a captain you can't give personalised attention to all 15 players of your team. Spending extra hours in the nets, throwing extra balls in the machine - a coach or manager has a chance to look after a larger group of boys. His role is before and after a game."

"Whatever problems we have, we share it" - Dhoni on his relationship with Karthik AFP

Sitting alongside Dravid at the press conference was Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's newly appointed one-day vice-captain. Dravid felt that Dhoni's elevation to the job was because of the effort and consistency. "Dhoni along with quite a few other boys have to take this team forward. They're the next generation of cricketers that's going to take this team ahead - there's no doubt about that. It's got to do with his ability to be selected in both forms of the game, his maturity in different situations. It shows a thinking mind and a good head on his shoulders."

Dhoni said he was ready for the vice-captaincy challenge and added that having another wicketkeeper in the squad took the pressure off him. "It's a new challenge for me. I've been playing for the last past two-and-a-half years, I've had different responsibility in that time - like batting in different positions. One tries to fulfil the requirements of the team. Being a vice-captain it will be tough for me but I'm excited.

"During the camp, both [Dinesh] Karthik and me kept wickets. When I batted, he kept. It's not an issue. Whatever problems we have, we share it. England tour is supposed to be tough for wicketkeepers - ball wobbles, swings a lot. Definitely having another keeper helps a lot."

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan assistant editor of Cricinfo

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