Mongia fancies chances in absence of senior pros

DHAKA: Having made his comeback to the Indian ODI squad after a five-month hiatus, Dinesh Mongia sees the absence of senior pros Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly as an opportunity for him to cement his place in the side.

Determined to utilise the chance to the full, the left hander said, "The rest given to Sachin and Sourav in the one-day series has provided me an opportunity. I would like to take it like that. I will try my level best to make full use of the opportunity," Mongia said.

The 30-year-old Mongia was dropped from the Indian team after the one-day series in South Africa in December.

He missed the World Cup but was recalled into the Indian side for the three one-dayers against Habibul Bashar's side.

Mongia is quite familiar with the conditions here as he had toured the country twice earlier as member of the Indian teams in 2003 and 2004-05.

"It is always an honour to play for India. Last time when I was  in the team, then also I had played well," Mongia said.

Mongia, who made his debut for India on home soil versus Australia in 2000-2001, seemed raring to go.

"If given a chance, I want to score as many runs as possible," he signed off."