Kirsten confirms Dravid fears
Dhaka, Jan. 26: India coach Gary Kirsten is a worried man. With South Africa arriving in a few days for two Test matches, he is keen to field a full strength squad but with Rahul Dravid almost certainly sidelined and doubts persisting over Yuvraj Singh, Kirsten admitted both “would struggle” to make the grade for the first Test at Nagpur from February 6.
“Yuvi will be out for a while. He will struggle to be ready for the first Test. As for Dravid he is also not sure. It is a bit of a concern as we wanted a full strength side against South Africa,” Kirsten said after the third day’s play against Bangladesh in the second Test here on Tuesday.“It is a difficult situation we are in. But there’s not much you can do about injuries. It’s out of our control. We have to wait and watch on these players over the next few days.”
Kirsten though, allayed fears over Sachin Tendulkar, who fell over and hurt his right shoulder while going for a high catch off Tamim Iqbal. “Sachin is all right. He is fine,” he said.
Kirsten confirmed that both Dravid and Yuvraj would not return early and would instead fly back with the team on the morning of January 29.
“It was quite a nasty hit for Rahul and we have to see if he needs to consult a specialist. He is not going back now. Yuvi had a torn cartilage in his left wrist but he will also stay back,” Kirsten said.
Speaking on the day’s proceedings, the South African agreed his bowlers had not been at their best.
“We did not bowl as well as we can or should have though the wicket is not easy for bowlers. After taking a lead of more than 300 runs, you want to get early breakthroughs and knock the opposition over as soon as possible.
“But we are happy that we got two quick wickets towards the close,” he added.
AGE CORRESPONDENT
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