Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Indian captain Rahul Dravid said his side are placing a priority on playing good cricket and not on getting revenge for their shock World Cup defeat by the hosts as his touring squad landed in Bangladesh on Monday.
Dravid arrived in Dhaka as part of a 15-member squad, who will play three one-day internationals and two Test matches, starting with the opening limited overs contest in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday.
"I don't really believe in revenge. There is no place for it in our book," he told reporters at the airport.
"What there is, is a place to show your potential and play really, very good cricket and I think that's what we are looking to do here."
Bangladesh beat India by five wickets in the World Cup group stages in the Caribbean on March 17 as the former champions were dumped from the tournament in the preliminary round.
"There were a lot of young players in the Bangladesh team that we hadn't seen much of [before the World Cup]," Dravid added.
"Now we have a lot more first-hand knowledge about some of their better players," added the 34-year old batsman, who is leading a relatively inexperienced team in the one-day series.
"I am sure that we have got some very good players, very talented players and the players are ready to do well. That's what we expect to show during the series" Dravid said.
The Indian captain also dismissed fears that the sweltering heat could pose a problem for his side.
Weather officials in Dhaka said the average temperature in the last seven days had hit 37 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country -- up to seven degrees higher than for the same period last year.
"The weather is the same for both teams and a lot of our players endure similar conditions in India," he said.
"It is not that we are coming from somewhere where the weather is very different form here, so I don't think it's really an issue for us.
"We had a good camp in Kolkata, the boys really acclimatised well and are looking forward to playing some very good cricket."
Dravid arrived in Dhaka as part of a 15-member squad, who will play three one-day internationals and two Test matches, starting with the opening limited overs contest in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday.
"I don't really believe in revenge. There is no place for it in our book," he told reporters at the airport.
"What there is, is a place to show your potential and play really, very good cricket and I think that's what we are looking to do here."
Bangladesh beat India by five wickets in the World Cup group stages in the Caribbean on March 17 as the former champions were dumped from the tournament in the preliminary round.
"There were a lot of young players in the Bangladesh team that we hadn't seen much of [before the World Cup]," Dravid added.
"Now we have a lot more first-hand knowledge about some of their better players," added the 34-year old batsman, who is leading a relatively inexperienced team in the one-day series.
"I am sure that we have got some very good players, very talented players and the players are ready to do well. That's what we expect to show during the series" Dravid said.
The Indian captain also dismissed fears that the sweltering heat could pose a problem for his side.
Weather officials in Dhaka said the average temperature in the last seven days had hit 37 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country -- up to seven degrees higher than for the same period last year.
"The weather is the same for both teams and a lot of our players endure similar conditions in India," he said.
"It is not that we are coming from somewhere where the weather is very different form here, so I don't think it's really an issue for us.
"We had a good camp in Kolkata, the boys really acclimatised well and are looking forward to playing some very good cricket."
Labels: Rahul Dravid
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