‘My boys are not given proper due’

‘My boys are not given proper due’
Press trust of india

Mumbai, February 24 : Coach Ashok Mankad today said his boys were not given their due by the national selectors while picking the team for the first Test.

“Had the selectors chosen the team after this match, it could have been fruitful. Three to four Mumbai players really made a mark in this match and they could have certainly made it to the national side,” Mankad told reporters here.

Mankad, however, expressed great satisfaction in the way his side performed in the match against the formidable Aussies. “Particularly the bowlers displayed a lot of commitment but I am slightly disappointed in the manner in which two of our hard-hitting batsmen Vinod Kambli and Robin Morris batted,” Mankad said.

On his team’s performance today, the former India player said: “Actually our first plan failed. We decided to score 325-odd runs but Shane Warne bowled excellently well by grabbing the wickets of our pinch-hitters who were especially promoted in the order to achieve the target.”

About his captain Sameer Dighe’s performance with the bat and on the field, Mankad said he has seen finest of wicket-keeping from Sameer and he rightly deserved the Man-of-the-Match award as he batted well and also captained the side brilliantly.

Giving full credit to Steve Waugh, Mankad said he played captain’s knocks in both the innings and his essay in the first came at the right time.

About Australian leggie Shane Warne’s performance in the match, Mankad said, “Warne is a man who can run through a side. He has got history and I am sure that he will produce a good performance against Indians”.

Asked whether his performance in this match has anything to do with his plans to make a comeback in the national side, Mumbai captain and wicketkeeper Sameer Dighe answered in the negative.

“I am not at all thinking about place in the Indian team. I just play the game as it comes,” he said. Asked when he lost hope of winning the match after taking six Australian wickets, Dighe said, “We never hoped to win. We faced the situation ball by ball as we knew we were facing a tough side.”