Dravid’s absence against SA a big blow: Gambhir

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: February 1, 2010

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Dravid’s absence against SA a big blow: Gambhir thumbnail

Chennai: India’s opening batsman Gautam Gambhir said on Sunday that Rahul Dravid’s absence in the middle order is a huge blow to the Indian team but the team is confident of a good showing against the Proteas after starting the year on a winning note against Bangladesh.

“Rahul Dravid has been the wall of Indian middle order batting and his absence against a quality team such as South Africa will be a big blow,” said Gambhir, a brand ambassador of MRF, after flagging off the Formula 1600 race in the MRF Challenge series.

“But we have begun 2010 well (by winning against Bangladesh). The players would want to carry the momentum against South Africa. Moreover, injuries are part and parcel of sports, and it gives other players an opportunity to prove their mettle against a tough opposition,” he said.

Dravid was earlier ruled out of the all important two match series against South Africa starting February 6 after the veteran batsman fractured his jaw during the second test against Bangladesh at Mirpur.

Gambhir said that South Africa has a strong pace attack in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but the Indian duo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are no less potent. “They have a strong bowling pair in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. We need to start off well up front to keep them at bay. Though we don’t have S Sreesanth, Zaks (Zaheer Khan) has been bowling extremely well recently. His performance in Bangladesh speaks volumes of the form he is in. Ishant Sharma has also been bowling well in Tests and we do have a good balance in bowling,” said Gambhir

Gambhir added that India will need to be on their toes right from the beginning and make a good start to the series if they want to beat Graeme Smith’s men and retain their No. 1 ranking. “We have to play well as a team. It would be crucial for us to get a good start, either batting or bowling first. If we are batting first, we need to put up a good total to back up the bowlers. If we are bowling first, we need to take crucial early wickets,” said the top-ranked ICC Test batsman.

“They (South Africa) did well when they were here the last time, but didn’t win the series. They will surely carry some confidence from that tour. But we have started off the year well by winning the series against Bangladesh. We have a lot of cricket ahead and it is good to start the year on such a positive note,” he said.

Gambhir, however, tried to stay clear of the controversy surrounding Pakistani players’ snub from the IPL this year. “I have no clue about it. But despite the absence of Pakistan players, we have a good pack of foreign cricketers. There are some very good foreign players, though we don’t have Mohammad Asif, but I think there is a good balance,” said the Delhi Daredevils captain.

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