In complete contrast to chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's remarks about the senior
players in the side, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni today sided with
the ageing stalwarts and said they are irreplaceable.
After his side beat Australia by eight runs in a cliffhanger here, Dhoni
said the team needed to groom the youngsters but at the same time insisted that
the ageing trio of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
was an indispensable part of the side.
"I think none said they are no longer needed. Frankly,
you can't replace the seniors, given the amount of talent they have. They have
proved themselves in this match as well," Dhoni said.
"Of course we need to groom the youngsters side by side. Because if one
day the senior players decide to leave the arena, you would be at sea. So you
have to keep the juniors ready," he said.
Vengsarkar in a recent interview had told that seniors should
not take their place for granted.
Tendulkar and Ganguly gave India their best start of the series,
forging a 91-run stand in 20 overs and saw through the difficult early hour
when the ball was swinging a lot.
Asked if he felt that it was a tardy start, Dhoni said that
was not the case.
"(On the contrary) I think we went on to score 291 just
because of the start they gave us. They played really well against the Australian
bowlers who were bowling so well and credit goes to Sachin and Sourav,"
he argued.
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