India rest Kumble, focus on winning series: Dravid

Visakhapatnam, Feb 16: India has decided to rest leg spinner Anil Kumble and speedster S Sreeshanth for the fourth and the final, decisive ODI against Sri Lanka at the ACA-VDCA stadium here tomorrow.

''We have decided the 12. However, the final XI will be decided tomorrow morning,'' Team India skipper Rahul Dravid told a pre-match press conference.

He said Kumble and Sreeshanth were rested for the match, the last before the World Cup in the Carribean Islands next month.

Stating that the pitch here might help the quick bowlers initially, he said the final XI would be decided before the toss.

Dropping enough hints that all rounder Irfan Pathan, who is suffering from a niggling shoulder injury, had recovered from it and would be part of the final XI, Dravid said ''Irfan has recovered well. He bowled ten overs on the trot at the nets today.'' Dravid even hinted that Irfan might be even promoted up the order in the number three slot, when asked about the opening combination.

The opening combination was not yet decided for tomorrow's match. ''Individual performances definitely help the team's cause and it adds to the team's performance,'' he observed.

When pressed further on whether Sehwag would open as he did in Goa, Dravid said, We have to make the best choice. We have three opening batsmen (Uthappa, Ganguly and Sehwag). Two of them will open and the other perhaps will play at number three. We are also having the option of playing Dinesh Karthick or Pathan (at number three)''. On Sachin Tendulkar's injury, he dismissed it as a minor thing.

''He is experiencing some stiffness on his back and we did not want him to aggravate it (especially with the World Cup in next month). That's why we decided to rest him for tomorrow's match.'' ''Actually there is no real concern. His (Sachin's) injury is not a very serious thing and nothing alarming,'' Dravid reiterated and said the team was focussing on winning the series.

''We are focussing to win the series here tomorrow. Of course, World cup is there at the back of our minds. We will try and win tomorrow and take it from there to the World Cup,'' he said and added that the outcome of the series would not at all have any bearing on the team's chances in the World Cup.

''Winning a match on hand is more important. We want to win every game. The result here will not have any bearing on the Cup performance. In fact, both the teams (India and Sri Lanka) want to win the series here,'' Dravid stressed.

On the injury concerns, the Indian skipper said it was not an issue at all as minor injuries were part and parcel of cricket. ''So many international matches are being played. I am happy that the injuries to our players are not serious. I am not worried about them,'' he said.

''Every World Cup team is concerned about the injuries to their players. Luckily, there is no concern on the minor injuries of our players. I am confident about that,'' he added.

Emphasising that fielding was one of the areas the team needed to improve, Dravid said, ''We are seeing improvement in our fielding.

We have identified the areas where we need to improve upon. We are working on them in the last eight matches and the emphasis on fielding will continue''.

About Yuvraj Singh's current form, Dravid said, ''Yuvi is a 'power player'. ''We hope that he gets into his form. He is a delight to watch if he gets going''.

UNI