Ganguly reacts strongly to criticism on seniors

Bangalore, Oct 7 (UNI) Former India Captain Sourav Ganguly today took great exception to criticism against performance of senior players in the team.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said ''we had been performing ever since we had been in the field. We dont look at current form. Whenever time comes, we (the seniors) go all out and put our best in the field.'' When asked whether the seniors had received any warning from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) emphasising the need for consistency in performance for them to be in the team, he said ''we have not got anything from the Board and it may be only rumours.'' Stating it was performance which counted, he said ''during transition period, there will always be pressure. Every test is crucial. There will be pressure in all series. We had greats like Azhar and Vengsarkar.'' About his form, he said he might not have performed well in the recently concluded India a against New Zealand a match but ''once I start, I will go all out to give my best. I have been practicing in Kolkata and I am in good form.'' To a question about poor performance of the touring Australian team against Board President's XI at Hyderabad in the practice match, Saurav said ''we should never judge a touring team on practice matches.

''They lack quality spinners, but you cannot take Australian team lightly.

''Of course, we have good spinners including Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh.

But Australian Skipper Ricky (Ponting) is a great player and his team has good players who deliver and compensate to overcome the shortcomings in the team.'' To another question, he said ''nobody can start as favourties, they are hard to beat. There will be pressure on both the sides when you start playing. Both the team have plans. It is execution that counts now,'' he said.

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