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Dravid seeks Trinidadians' support in group matches
By IANS,
Mar 13, 2007 - 4:32:10 PM
Port of Spain -, March 13 - Indian captain Rahul Dravid has called upon Trinidadians to support his team when it plays its preliminary group matches of the ICC World Cup 2007 at the Queen's Park Oval here.
'We are not playing against the West Indies at the moment, it will be two neutral teams on the field, so it is my hope that the people of Trinidad come out and support India,' Dravid told the local media soon after arriving at the Piarco International Airport here from Jamaica Monday evening.
India will play its first Group B match March 17 when it will take on Bangladesh. The other two teams in the group are Sri Lanka and Bermuda.
Stating that he loved Trinidad, Dravid said, 'I love playing cricket here and I am hoping for good results.'
Talking about the match against Bangladesh, Dravid said he would take one game at a time and make sure India gets through the group phase first.
The India-Bangladesh match has suddenly assumed significance after Bangladesh beat New Zealand in a warm-up match last Tuesday. The match has been completely sold out and so is the other key match in the group featuring India and Sri Lanka.
Expressing confidence in his players, the Indian skipper said, 'We have a lot of quality in the batting and the bowling and I think that we will field good in this tournament also.'
When asked about Indian legend Kapil Dev's comments that the current Indian team is far superior than the 1983 Indian side that had won the World Cup, Dravid said that it was difficult to compare teams.
'It's a different time, a different era, and that was a great team that won the competition,' he told reporters.
Asked about Virender Sehwag's poor form, he said, 'I don't think that every member of a 15-man squad will be in form at the same time and it is my hope that he comes around, as the tournament progresses.'
He hoped all players would put forward the best in them 'because winning is what it is about in this tournament'.
All the four teams in the group, who arrived by the same flight, will start training Tuesday before the group's first match between Sri Lanka and Bermuda Thursday.
While India and Sri Lanka will practice at the University of West Indies ground, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be using the National Cricket Centre at Balmain, Couva, near here.
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