Chandigarh, September 21: Australian captain Ricky Ponting said the dropping of flamboyant cricketer Yuvraj Singh from the Indian Test side was disappointing, though he believed that the hosts would be out in the field with a strong batting line-up.
”Dropping of local star flamboyant Yuvraj Singh from the Test Series is disappointing. However, India have a strong batting line-up. The Test series is expected to be challenging and interesting,” Ponting told mediapersons here.
The Australian captain was also hopeful the tourists would finish on the winning side, with the fact remaining that the Aussies have not won a Test series under his captaincy. He however asserted that Australians have a good one-day record against India.
Admitting that cricket has been considerably damaged by the recently match-fixing reports, Ponting said things have been more documented. ”Cricket Australia has very well briefed us before coming to India and we are fully prepared to handle any situation on this front.
”Ticking Pakistan on recent match fixing allegations from the ICC World Cup should badly affect cricket as Pakistan is a strong cricket side. The issue should be sorted out in an appropriate manner. ”Banning the entire Pakistan squad would be a bit unfair. Only players involved in match-fixing accusations could be banned and not the entire team. We should think positively,” he said after hs team’s arrival here yesterday.
The 33-year-old Aussie further praised the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium and said the Mohali ground has been a happy hunting groud for him.
”The Mohali ground is my favourite. It is fast and climate and conditions are very favourable.” ”This time, we have new faces, especially on the pacers front. In the last series, the Indian spinners had damaged us a lot but we are fully prepared for the current two-Test series starting in Mohali on October 2,” he said over his squad.
Asked to comment on security after the recent shooting incident in New Delhi, Ponting said, ”we are fully satisfied with the security arrangements.” The Hotel Taj where the Australians are staying has been converted into a fort with a large number of cops posted in an around the hotel. The Chandigarh and Punjab Police have made elaborate security arrangements as the Australians would be staying here till the end of the first Test. Their stay in Chandigarh would last 16 days. They will play a warm-up three-day match against Board’s President XI here from September 25 to 27. The Board President’s team led by Gautam Gambhir would assemble here on September 23.
—-Agencies