Sourav bats for minnows' inclusion in World Cup

Kolkata, Feb 24 (UNI) Former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly today voted for the inclusion of the minnows in the World Cup, saying the experience of playing against the formidable teams would make them stronger sides in the coming days.

''It is the duty of stronger teams to support these teams to do better. If you do not let them play against these teams, they will not get the exposure,'' Ganguly said.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has recently criticised the minnows' inclusion in the showpiece event, which, he felt, would devalued an event as big as World Cup.

Ganguly, however, did not agree that the presence of sides like Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands would rob the World Cup of its lustre or class.

''I don't think so. We are playing these teams only in the preliminaries. They are here to gain experience and they should be given a chance,'' he argued.

''We (India) also went through such phases when we started,'' he reminded.

He also felt that that the established sides would not be lacking in motivation when they square up against the minnows. It was also a part of their responsibility to promote cricket by playing the weaker sides and playing against the stronger sides could be a huge motivation factor for the minnows, he said.

''The event World Cup itself is enough to get motivated,'' he said.

Talking about India's chances in the World Cup, the former captain said, ''We have chances of performing well. We have a good team. We were in great form in the home series opposite the West Indies and Sri Lanka. But what you do in these six or seven games is important.'' Asked about the injury to Irfan Pathan, Ganguly said, ''From the media I got to know there is a bit of a question mark on Irfan Pathan. Hope he gets through. We need him.'' Asked about the injury problems faced by Australia, he said in a lighter vein, ''We won't mind their niggles. They are after all a very strong side.'' Ricky Ponting's side would miss injured spearhead Brett Lee in the tournament, he said.

''He is their strike bowler. Obviously Australia will feel his absence,'' Ganguly opined.

UNI