Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MM/GA) – pics – Ganesh S Perla

Mangalore, Apr 25: “India would surely miss Irfan Pathan during the up-coming tour of Bangladesh.  He should not have been left out of the Indian team which was selected for Bangladesh tour.  He is a talented cricket player with a huge potential to become one of the finest all-rounders,” said legendary Indian wicket-keeper and member of 1983 World Cup winning team Syed Kirmani.

In an exclusive chat with Daijiworld at Hotel Moti Mahal here on Wednesday April 25 evening, he said that once Irfan was hailed as great prospect and future of Indian cricket.  “Now we have dumped him when he actually needs support to come out of his slump in form.  What has happened with him is clear injustice to him,” he added.

Expressing his views about the present Indian cricket team he said that they at times lose sight from their main goal.  “Exaggerated mannerism is seen in many of the present Indian cricket players. This is may be because thousands of cameras and billions of eyes watch them every moment both on and off the field.  It is the need of the hours that their behaviour is well controlled by the coach and captain,” he suggested.

When asked about appointing a foreign or Indian coach to the team, he said that the World Cup winning team of 1983 did not have any coach or physician. “Basically it is the team which has to perform. Coach is a part of the team only. He can suggest various things.  But players have to implement them on field.  Then only results could be seen,” he opined.

Saying that both John Wright and Greg Chappel were good coaches he said that a coach cannot be held responsible for the defeat and victory of a team.  He also commended the BCCI for appointing Ravi Shashtri as the manager for the Indian team for the time being and said that his former team-mate would surely be an asset to the team in many ways. “Along with this, the team selected for Bangla tour is a quite good and is a good blend of youth and experience,” he added

He supported the selection board on its view regarding the endorsements by players.

Predicting that, Australia would win the present world cup, he said that right now Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting is the numero uno cricket player in the world.  “As a captain and as a player, he is a almost a complete package,” added he. 1 cricket player world is none other than Rickey Ponting.

Earlier he attended a programme organized by State Bank of India here at Hotel Moti  Mahal and hosted a quiz competiton.