Azharuddin was candid enough to offer ``no excuses'' to the 61-run reversal suffered in the one-off Test against minnows Zimbabwe last weekend. But he said: ``I don't think it calls for some serious introspection based on the performance of just one game.

``There is no need to panic,'' he asserted on the team's arrival at the Sahar Airport here in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. ``Let us hope that things would fall in place soon,'' quipped the Indian skipper who has opted out of the Challenger overs-limited Series to be held at Ahmedabad from Thursday. ``I have to undergo an operation to remove a cyst in my left ear,'' he informed.

Asked to comment on the Indians' abysmal record on foreign soil in the past decade (just one Test win -- against Sri Lanka in the 1993-94 series), Gaekwad said: ``Let's not forget thatoverseas teams too haven't fared well in India.''

He felt remedial measures lay in ``playing more matches away from home and getting more time to get used to the conditions.'' The former Test opener was, however, upbeat on India's chances in the forthcoming Wills International Mini World Cup. ``The signs are very positive,'' he remarked.

Consistent displays besides bowling and fielding, were the areas that needed attention in the build-up to the World Cup, he opined. ``Batting is not a worry,'' he added.