Dravid's injury "big blow" but we can beat South Africa: Gambhir

Injured Rahul Dravid's absence from next month's Test series against South Africa came was a "big blow" for the team, but India are a confident lot after starting the year on a winning note against Bangladesh, said opener Gautam Gambhir on Sunday.

"Rahul Dravid has been the wall of Indian middle order batting and his absence against a quality team such as South Africa will be a big blow," said Gambhir, a brand ambassador of MRF, after flagging off the Formula 1600 race in the MRF Challenge series. "But we have begun 2010 well (by winning against Bangladesh). The players would want to carry the momentum against South Africa. Moreover, injuries are part and parcel of sports, and it gives other players an opportunity to prove their mettle against a tough opposition," he said. Dravid has been ruled out of the two-Test series against the Proteas starting February 6 after the right-hander fractured his jaw during the just-concluded Bangladesh tour. Gambhir said South Africa have a strong pace attack in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel but Indian duo of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma are no less potent. "They have a strong bowling pair in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. We need to start off well upfront to keep them at bay. Though we don't have S Sreesanth, Zaks (Zaheer Khan) has been bowling extremely well recently. His performance in Bangladesh speaks volumes of the form he is in. "Ishant Sharma has also been bowling well in Test and we do have a good balance in bowling," said Gambhir. Gambhir said India will have to make a good start in all departments of the game if they want to beat Graeme Smith's men.
"We have to play well as a team. It would be crucial for us to get a good start, either batting or bowling first. If we are batting first we need to put up a good total to back up the bowlers. If we are bowling first, we need to take crucial early wickets," said the top-ranked ICC Test batsman. "They (South Africa) did well when they were here the last time, but didn't win the series. They will surely carry some confidence from that tour. But we have started off the year well by winning the series against Bangladesh. We have a lot of cricket ahead and it is good to start the year on such a positive note," he said.

Pakistan team lack unity: Afridi

Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder and vice-captain Shahid Afridi has opened up a new front with captain Mohammad Yousuf and other members accusing them of not playing as a unit in the ongoing One-day series in Australia. "The thing is that we are losing because the players are not playing with unity," Afridi said on Geo Television after Pakistan suffered a 40-run defeat in the third One-dayer against Australia in Adelaide. Afridi said everyone was playing to make a name for himself and not for the national team. "I am really sad and disappointed at the performance of team," Afridi said. Afridi, who made it clear that those players who were not performing well should be rested or dropped so that the new players could be given a chance to play, also took an indirect dig at his captain when asked about the team's performance. "I believe that a good captain is one who can control his players and extract the best performances from them," Afridi said. Afridi, who scored a hard hitting 40 in the defeat, is being tipped to replace Yousuf at the helm of the ODI squad when the team returns from Australia. Ironically even Yousuf has said that it is time Pakistan Cricket Board drop such players from the team who play for themselves and not for the team

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