India coach Gary Kirsten has played down the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Coach happy with balance of India side
India coach Gary Kirsten has played down the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the upcoming three-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Dhoni had his request to be left out of the series granted by the BCCI after the wicketkeeper sited fatigue after almost 18 months of non-stop cricket.
Despite the loss, Kirsten is not too concerned having called both wicketkeeper/batsman Dinesh Karthik and gloveman Parthiv Patel into a 16-man squad.
"I think the side is well balanced," Kirsten told
Times Now.
"Obviously we will miss Dhoni's experience, but he has been replaced by two keepers who do similar jobs."
The South African also believes that his bowling department will more than compensate for the missing 27-year-old, especially following the return of paceman Zaheer Khan.
"Zaheer is back and he is a very experienced bowler in these tough conditions," he said.
"Ishant Sharma has been bowling exceptionally well in the last six months now.
"So, there are some good players coming through and it's an opportunity for them."
Confident
Captain Anil Kumble remains in upbeat mood ahead of the first Test, which gets underway in Colombo next Wedensday.
"The last time we played Sri Lanka in India (in 2005) we beat them, so we are confident," said Kumble.
"We have done well in the lead-up to the Test series. In the last one year or so we have been consistent with our performances."
The skipper said his team had quality batsmen to succeed against Sri Lanka's latest spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, who bagged six wickets for just 13 runs when the two countries met in the Asia cup final.
"It will be challenging and I am sure our batsmen will definitely cope with that," he added. "It is something we need to be on the look out for."
