Sehwag is no ordinary player, he is special ;Dravid

Montego Bay, Mar 10 (UNI) Team India skipper Rahul Dravid today came out strongly in defence of his beleaguered batsman Virender Sehwag saying ''He (Sehwag) is no ordinary player and I have not supported any Joe Blogg or a Ramadin, Viru is special''.

''I am surprise when people question his inclusion in the team, he has done so much for the team, he has a 300 under his belt, has played several remarkable innings,he just needs support'' Dravid told media persons while stoutly defending Sehwag.

Rahul agreed with a question that on paper this was one of the most open World Cup..''Yes on paper it looks the tightest and the most open but the picture will be clear when the tournament gets to the super eight stage and three or four teams will move away from the rest.'' Asked whether it was going to be his last World Cup,Rahul said ''Well I don't know, I can't talk about the future, I don't know what is in store. I am not into the realm of future. At the moment I am focused. My whole concentration is on the World Cup.

He said winning against West Indies in the warm up match yesterday was a good morale booster for the team. ''Though it was warm up match but still to win it so comprehensively against a world class team like West Indies is great. The hosts had beaten us last year in the one day series here,'' he said.

The Indian skipper however admitted that he was not taking any opposition in the league group lightly. ''Our first match against Bangaldesh is going to be hard ..Bangladesh is a good side. They have victories against us, Australia, Pakistan under their belt, Their showing in the warm up matches has been good so we can't afford to under estimate them'' Asked about the newly laid tracks for the World Cup, Rahul said ''Well, we are not thinking about them. It is not a cause of worry for us because tracks are going to be the same for all the teams.We have a squad which can perform on any sort of wicket. It is the performance on a particular day that well matter and not the ground as the conditions will be same for every body.

He agreed that it will be tough to progress into the Super eight because every team will give their best. ''The World Cup is a huge stage and you just can't take your rivals lightly. Ours will probably be one of the most contested ones as Bangldesh, in these conditions, can be dagerous. They have the bowlers to make the most of the conditions.'' To a query that whether a score of 500 was possible in this World Cup, Rahul said ''I don't see this possibility, though I will not be surprised if it happens but personally I donot think it is possible. The pitches here don't support very big scores.'' He said he was hopeful that all the players will give their best. ''It is going to be a team effort and that is why we have 15 players. It is not an individual game. Every player will have to give and complement the other's efforts.'' The skipper was of the view that Irfan Pathan was improving with every outing. ''Yesterday he picked up three wickets and that must have boosted his morale. He is improving and that is what we wantq Rahul said for those playing in their the first World Cup, it was a huge moment. ''They are very confident of performing well.'' ''We are focused and confident but a our feet are firmly planted on the ground,'' he added.

UNI