Thaindian News

Kolkata, Oct 20 (IANS) Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly finds nothing surprising in the national squad’s emphatic victories over England in the first two one-dayers of the ongoing home series, but he is worried over the side failing to do well abroad for quite some time.

“India in India is one of the toughest teams to beat. So it is nothing surprising that they’ll have the upper hand against England here. The young team is doing very well and gelling together as a coherent unit that is pleasing to see,” Ganguly told mediapersons at a function here Thursday.

However, he expressed concern at the team’s lacklustre shows abroad

“The real concern, I believe, is failing to win matches outside India. That should be the yardstick. We haven’t done well abroad for a long time now,” he said.

During their tour to England in July-September, India were whitewashed 0-4 in the Test series and also went down 0-3 in the one-dayers. However, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led team has bounced back by winning the first two ODIs of the home series at Hyderabad and Delhi.

On axed off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Ganguly exuded confidence that a comeback was on the cards soon.

“The tour Down Under is coming up. So I don’t see Harbhajan staying out of the frame for too long. He is a seasoned campaigner and the team cannot do without his services in the tough tour against Australia this winter,” he said.

Praising the performance of the youngsters in the Indian team, Ganguly said: “They have been doing well consistently. They haven’t let the absence of seniors take a toll on the team. It is time for the young legs to chip in now.”

Ganguly said while seasoned pros like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag would be there to guide the rookies, it was high time the youngsters learnt to shoulder responsibility.