With ace tweaker Anil Kumble opting out of the match, left-arm spinner Murali Kartik is very much in the frame for a place in the playing eleven in India’s crucial tri-nation cricket tie against New Zealand at the Barabati Stadium here on Thursday.Kumble has decided against playing in the match here following the demise of his father KN Krishnaswamy.“The team has expressed shock over Kumble’s bereavement. Our deepest sympathies are with his immediate family,” Indian coach John Wright told reporters as the players arrived here from Bhubaneswar for nets at the stadium this afternoon.Wright said: “It would probably provide him (Kartik) an opportunity to play. He did a very good job against the West Indies last time and he had always done well when given a chance.”Asked whether left-arm-medium pacer Asish Nehra, back in the team after a long injury-related lay-off, would play, the coach said he was bowling well in the nets and in contention for a place.“It’s good to have him back in the squad,” he said. Replying to a question as to whether there would be any change in the batting order in view of India’s poor performance against Australia in the previous match, he said it was the responsibility of the captain to decide.“The team would try to improve in all areas,” Wright said adding “it would concentrate on conceding less runs in the first 15 overs”.“If we play to our potential we’ll be very competitive,” he said.Asked to comment on the batting of opener Virender Sehwag and Mohammed Kaif, the coach brushed aside their recent failures saying Sehwag is a match winner on his day while Kaif had played only one innings in the current series.Wright said the Barabati pitch looked good for a one-day game.
