Sourav, Gambhir to open; Sachin in middle order: Dravid

Nagpur, Jan 20 (UNI) Team India captain Rahul Dravid ended the speculation about the opening slot when he reveoled that Gautam Gambhir will partner comeback man Sourav Ganguly in the first one-dayer against West Indies beginning here tomorrow.

Speaking to mediapersons after the practice session, Dravid said ''We have been having problems in the middle overs, which are going to prove crucial in the World Cup and with Yuvraj Singh still not fit we decided that Sachin would bat in the middle order to control the innings there.

Dravid informed that Robin Uthappa, R P Singh and Joginder Sharma will sit out.

''When we went to West Indies in May last year, it was the middle order which really let us down and therefore we need to find the right persons to bat in the middle,'' he added.

Speaking about these practice matches, Dravid said, ''More or less, we have the core of the team ready which we want to take to the World Cup.'' ''The main task ahead of us now is to win this series and get the momentum going with all our main players back in their best form for the World Cup,'' he added.

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