Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has virtually named Anil Kumble and
Harbhajan Singh as the two spinners certain to make the World Cup squad.
He also said that off-spinner Ramesh Powar was competing for a spot
with one of the pace bowlers.
"It's good to see Anil Kumble back in action and his bowling
together with Harbhajan Singh is crucial in the World Cup," Dravid said
on the eve of India's fourth and final one-day international against the West
Indies.
However, Dravid said Powar was not ruled out for the World
Cup, and the Mumbai off-spinner was in fact fighting for a spot in the team
with one of the medium pacers and not the two senior spinners.
"We have come close to choosing the squad of 15 from 17
or 18 players. We are pretty close to where we want to be. We want players who
can adapt to different conditions and wickets and we are getting these kinds
of players," Dravid added.
Stressing on positives
The Bangalore batsman stressed he was looking forward to sealing
the series against the West Indies with a 3-1 margin and said Robin Uthappa
and Sourav Ganguly, who was rested for the previous match at Chennai, would
open the innings on Wednesday.
Dravid said the Indian fans and media needed to be more patient
with the younger players rather than judge them hastily and pointed out the
example of West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels who was persisted with despite
a string of failures before he played a match-winning innings at Chennai.
Talking about the positives from the present series, Dravid
said there have been a few good displays from young players, the return of Anil
Kumble and the bowling of Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan.
|
