Sport - Cricket

No complacency, says Kirsten

Dhaka: India coach Gary Kirsten dwelt on the colour of the wicket and its impact on the ball. It does become harder to sight the ball after 20 overs on a dark brown surface.

“The rules are that the ball can only be changed in the 35th over, we have put in a request that if both teams do agree, we can, maybe, change that ruling. It has been told to me that it is going to be difficult to do for the next game tomorrow, which is fair enough.

“But depending on the teams that go through to the final, they can maybe bring in a local ruling to change it to 30 overs. But that’s in the hands of the ICC. I think the players have felt it is quite difficult to see the ball even after the 25th over,” said Kirsten.

The coach said his side would not be complacent against Bangladesh. Kirsten said he would strive to rotate the players whenever there was an opportunity.

He said: “We have the luxury of a lot of young players coming through. We are keen to experiment with the eleven, with the batting slots. We want to look at the same situation differently.”

Bangladesh captain Mohammed Ashraful pointed out that India was continuing to win despite the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. “They have some good youngsters,” he said.

Ashraful said Bangladesh had beaten India before and added his side would have to get the basics right.

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