Former India coach believes it's important to keep senior players fresh for the world cup
Former India coach believes it's important to keep senior players fresh for the world cup
Former India captain Ajit Wadekar and coach of the 1996 World Cup team has said that the time is ripe to rest the senior players who will be certainties for next year's World Cup.
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Wadekar was in current coach Gary Kirsten's shoes in 1996 as he prepared the Indian team for their second World Cup in the sub-continent (the first being the 1987 World Cup).
"There is still time for the World Cup, but the time to start resting and rotating players is NOW," Wadekar told MiD DAY. "It's time we had a look at the younger players and from what I can see there are some talented players who have emerged from the Twenty20 form of the game," he said in the light of a media report which said that a senior member of the squad in Sri Lanka had requested Indian cricket board secretary N Srinivasan to rest some players keeping the World Cup in mind.
The Indian team in the Emerald Isles is without the services of fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth, who are injured. Veteran Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for the triangular series which involves hosts Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Tendulkar was last seen in one-day internationals in February.
"The seniors need the breaks and you don't have to worry too much about them being away because they have the temperament to come back and perform," said Wadekar.
"If captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels his players are tired and need a break, he is absolutely right," signed off Wadekar.
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