Kolkata: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir cautioned Dhoni and his men to be complacent ahead of the first match against New Zealand on March 15. Gambhir, who played a key part in helping India lift the inaugural World T20 title was in the city to take part in a cricket chat show.
India’s primary focus should be in World T20 rather than concentrating on the Pakistan match.
“This is all created by media to get TRPs and stuff like that. It’s not the only match. The bigger thing is that whoever is playing in the World Cup will look to win the trophy. India-Pakistan is just another match,” commented Gambhir.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and West Indian Dwayne Bravo were also present in the interactive session. According to Ganguly, “India vs Pakistan match have always been a keen contest. Though Pakistan is still unbeaten against India at the Eden Gardens in the shorter format, my vote will be with India. I feel India is clear favorites.”
Dwayne Bravo who is an integral part in the West Indies squad feels that the IPL experience will help them. But they will miss Narine as he would have been effective in Indian conditions.
Meanwhile, Australian pace bowler John Hastings on Saturday credited former India skipper Sourav Ganguly for giving an aggressive dimension to the India-Australia rivalry on the cricket field. “It was Sourav who brought in an aggressive attitude in the Indian team. He also used intimidating tactics like he once made the then Australian captain Steve Waugh wait at the toss. ” Hastings told media persons in Kolkata.