The rains may have dampened the playing conditions here on Tuesday but not the spirits of the players of the Board President’s XI. Ahead of their game against visiting Sri Lanka, skipper Rohit Sharma said his players were looking forward to the three-day game at the MCA’s Bandra-Kurla Complex here from Wednesday.
“This is an opportunity for all the youngsters to prove themselves. I feel the selectors are thinking that I should be more responsible as far as captaincy is concerned. So I would like to keep it simple as everyone here is experienced enough and knows what to do and what not to,” the BP XI captain said.
For someone like Pragyan Ojha, who was picked in the Test squad, the match is a god-send chance to book his place in the starting XI for the first Test. Ojha and Rohit apart, there will be others to push their agenda too. Robin Uthappa, Abhishek Nayar, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda and others will also have to stand up and be counted, if not for the Tests but for the five one-dayers and the two T20 matches that follow the three five-day games.
Rohit said the composition of the final XI will be decided only on Wednesday morning. The delayed decision was not because there are intense discussions about the slots but for the condition of the wicket. “The wicket was a bit wet yesterday, and today we missed out on a proper practice session, but it looks to be batsman-friendly,” the skipper said.
But the BP XI team is not worried about facing Muttiah Muralitharan or Ajantha Mendis. “No doubt Mendis is a very good bowler, but we are not concerned whether Murali or Mendis is playing. In stead we are focusing on ourselves,” he quipped.
And if Rohit is to be believed, the sudden change of format (from T20 to three-dayer) doesn’t need any special skills to adapt to. “We have been doing this for the last couple of years and it’s just one mental aspect. Everyone is quite used to it,” the Mumbai batsman said.
Asked whether personal goals of each player may affect the team’s chances, the skipper resorted to his trademark straight drive. “If everyone contributes, it will only help the team. At the end of the day, it’s the team which will benefit,” the Board President’s XI skipper remarked.
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