DHAKA, Jan 9: After a disastrous year, India will look forward to the new year and a change in captaincy to work wonders when they begin action in the three-nation Coca Cola Independence Cup tournament which begins here tomorrow.India look favourites on paper to claim the event as arch-rivals Pakistan, led by wicket-keeper Rashid Latif, are without pace duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis besides stumper Moin Khan.
After a three-hour nets at the venue, Azharuddin promised to bring better days for Indian cricket ahead of their clash against the ICC Cup winners.
He announced that India was here to win and said: ``Sachin is a vital cog in the wheel,'' declaring the importance of the man he deposed in India's quest for honours.
But the Dhaka weather threatens to dampen the enthusiasm. The country is reeling under a cold wave and the capital is covered by a thick blanket of fog. The chilly conditions have been continuing for the last five days with similar weather forecast for the next few days.
Both
Azharuddin and coach Anshuman Gaekwad declared they would not be taking the match against the hosts lightly. Gaekwad said, India's approach for the tournament would be ``very positive'' while Azharuddin opined that Bangladesh would not be an easy opponent.
The US $75,000 prize-money tournament will be a round-robin affair with the teams meeting each other once and the top two playing in a three-leg final. India meet Pakistan on January 11 and the latter play the hosts on January 12 with the final matches scheduled for January 14, 16 and, if required, on 17.
The teams:
India (from): M Azharuddin (capt), A Jadeja (vice capt), S Ganguly, N Sidhu, S Tendulkar, Robin Singh, N Mongia, J Srinath, H Kanitkar, S Bahutule, D Mohanty, R Sanghvi, Harvinder Singh and VVS Laxman.
Bangladesh (from): Akram Khan (capt), Aminul Islam, Javed Omar Belim, Shariar Hossain Bidyut, Sanwar Hossain, Khaled Mahmud Sujon, Khaled Masud Pilot, Habibul Bashar Sumon, Hasibul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Rafique,
Zakir Hossain, Hassan-uz-Zaman, Safiuddin Ahmed Babu, Shariful Haque Plabon.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
