'Winning Is What Matters'

In an exclusive interview, Vengsarkar said it was for Gloster and King tofind out the reasons for injuries as the team could ill-afford to lose theservices of its strike bowlers after having played only a few games.

"It is a matter of great concern for all of us. There are a lot ofmatches to be played during the season and the frequent breakdown of bowlers isdefinitely not a good sign," the former India captain said.

"I feel the physio and the trainer have to play a big role in keepingall the players, especially the fast bowlers, in prime condition all the time.We just can't afford to see our main strike bowlers nursing injuries just afterone or two games," he said.

"Both Gloster and King will have to call the shots on whether thebowlers are working out too much or less than what is required," heremarked to a specific question.

Vengsarkar was referring to the recent injuries to pace bowlers S Sreesanthand Munaf Patel both prior and during the tour of Bangladesh from where theyreturned home early.

Looking back on the Bangladesh visit which ended triumphantly for thevisitors after their shock first round exit in the World Cup, Vengsarkar saidthat he was quite impressed with the margin of victory in both the one-day andTest series.

"Whether it is Bangladesh, New Zealand or Australia, winning is whatmatters. There is no doubt that India was expected to beat Bangladesh, but I amreally impressed with the margin of wins both in the ODIs as well as inTests," he said.

India, whose surprise defeat to Bangladesh led to their exit in the firstround of the World Cup in the West Indies, avenged the loss with a convincing2-0 margin in the one-day series after their hopes of a 3-0 rout was spoilt byweather with last one-dayer getting washed out.

The Rahul Dravid-led squad whipped Bangladesh 1-0 in the Test rubber byclinching the second and last Test in Mirpur yesterday by an innings insidethree days after the rain-marred, drawn opener at Chittagong which hosted thewashed-out final ODI too.

On the continued poor form exhibited by Virender Sehwag, who was chosen onlyfor the ODIs in Bangladesh, Vengsarkar felt the Delhi batsman looked to be ingreat touch as long as he was in the middle but needs to carry that forward andbuild partnerships.

"Sehwag looked in great touch as long as he was at the crease. However,I feel it is more important to play a long innings for the team and try andbuild up partnerships. The experienced players have to show the way to thejuniors", he said.

Asked whether Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who were rested for theODI series, are in the running for the squad for the series in Ireland andScotland after their run of big scores in Bangladesh, Vengsarkar said he couldnot comment as there were four other selectors in the panel.

"Both are great players and have performed consistently for many yearsat the highest level. As a matter of fact I can't talk on behalf of theselection committee as there are four other selectors who form the panel,"he said.

While Tendulkar scored hundreds in each of the two Tests to emerge as the manof the series, Ganguly notched up a ton in the drawn opener at Chittagong.

The chief selector, however, hinted that the best possible team would bechosen for the three one-dayers against South Africa in Ireland and the one-offODI, for the Prince Charles Charity Trust, in Scotland against Pakistan.

"Well, it is not possible to send the strongest team for all off-shorematches. We will have to select the team which not only has a good combinationbut also we will have to make sure key players are kept fresh all the time,which is bound to be an Herculean task. We will have to ensure that the teamkeeps winning as well as the players are physically and mentally fresh.

"Now, India will be pitted against the strong South African andPakistani outfit. Hence we will have to send the best possible team," hesaid.

The selectors are to meet in Bangalore on June 12 to choose separate squadsfor the four off-shore one-dayers and the subsequent three-Test series againstEngland in July-August. "I guess we will be selecting separate teams forthe one-dayers in Ireland and for the Test matches in England. As far as theseven one-dayers in England and the Twenty20 World Cup (in South Africa inSeptember) are concerned, we will be selecting the team during or just beforethe last Test match in England," Vengsarkar said.

The ODIs against South Africa are slated for June 26, 29 and July 1 while theone-off tie against Pakistan is to be held on July 3.

India would move to England thereafter to engage the hosts in three Tests atLord's (July 19-23), Trent Bridge, Nottingham (July 27-31) and The Oval (August9-13).

A seven-match one-day series will follow at the conclusion of the seriesrfrom August 21-September 8.

Vengsarkar insisted that a third Test opener was necessary for long tours.The role of make-shift opener has been played Dinesh Kaarthick over the last fewtours.

"Yes, on a longer tour like England, a third opener is anecessity," he said.

On Kaarthick, who scored his maiden century in Bangladesh in the second Testafter a half-century in the opener, Vengsarkar felt that the youngster had thepotential and attitude to succeed at the highest level.

"Dinesh has the potential and the attitude to succeed at the highestlevel. He showed it in South Africa as well as in Bangladesh. His innings in thefirst ODI (58 not out) when the match was precariously placed was out of the topdrawer," said the chief selector.

He felt five pace bowlers would be needed for the England tour and waspleased with the performance of youngsters Rudra Pratap Singh and Ishant Sharma,a late replacement for the injured Munaf Patel, in Bangladesh.

"I guess five would be the ideal number of fast bowlers on a tour likeEngland. Both RP (Singh) and Ishant (Sharma) bowled very well. Mind you, thewickets at Bangladesh did not have the bounce at all and the bowlers had to beatthe batsmen in air by sheer pace or depend on the reverse swing to beeffective," Vengsarkar said.

Sharma made his international debut in the second Test and picked up hismaiden wicket in the second innings while RP Singh grabbed six wickets in twoTests.

Vengsarkar, who achieved the unique distinction of scoring three hundreds onsuccessive tours at the hallowed Lord's, said playing side-on and not squaringup would be a key to succeeding as a batsman in England.

"The ball moves in the air and off the wicket more in England thananywhere else. The batsman is never set, for the old ball too does enough to getwickets," he said.

"I feel while batting concentration is the key and staying side-on andnot squaring up is vital for success. Every batsman has a different technique.The key is to adapt quickly to the conditions," he felt.

Vengsarkar holds high hopes for the Indian team in England when asked to rateits chances.

"(The chances are) very good. We have a very good team that consists ofplayers with loads of experience as well as potentially high-class players. I amsure we will do extremely well," he said.

PTI