Sachin wanted Kambli for Sidhu

COLOMBO, July 13: Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar denied that he branded the Asia Cup team `B Grade'.Tendulkar, however, expressed the view...

int(4)

COLOMBO, July 13: Indian skipper Sachin Tendulkar denied that he branded the Asia Cup team `B Grade’.

Tendulkar, however, expressed the view that left-handed batsman Vinod Kambli should have been in at the expense of Navjot Sidhu.

Tendulkar was profuse in welcoming Mohammad Azharuddin back to the side thereby quelling rumours about unhappiness over the former skipper’s inclusion instead of his Mumbai teammate Kambli.

Story continues below this ad

Emphasising his contention that Kambli and wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia should have been included and that repeated alterations was harming the side, Tendulkar denied Azharuddin’s return had led to Kambli’s omission.

Ending all speculation triggered off by a recent interview to a Bengali daily, Tendulkar stoically clarified issues on his arrival this morning from London after attending the ICC captains meeting.

“Yes, I did not like Mongia and Kambli out of the side. As a captain, I feel both should have been there. But at no stage did I mention I had been saddled with a B-grade team. It is a foolish statement and I could never have said it. But for Mongia and Kambli issue, rest of the interview I don’t own up. I think I can deny it altogether categorically,” he said.

Tendulkar argued that a cricketer of Kambli’s calibre could not be dropped for cricketing reasons. “In the Independence Cup, he was unbeaten in the first match, failed in the second and made a fighting 70 in the third against Pakistan. It is a 50-50 performance and I think he should have been selected.”

Story continues below this ad

“I thought Kambli should have been in the team in place of Navjot Sidhu,” said Tendulkar. The India skipper attempting to settle the dust raised over his interview, said, “Given the rumours floating around, I think I need to clarify my position even if it means discussing a few things with the press which I normally would have avoided.

In my career so far, I can say it with some accuracy that I have been non-controversial. It’s not my nature.”

Making a plea for continuity in selection, he said, “People must be given a longer run and persisted with for a while. But having said that, I need to get my boys together and tell them all that was said about the B-Grade team is hogwash. I need to do it as the team arrives this evening.”