Ganguly, Wright differ over including Kumble

India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright seem to differ on whether spin bowler Anil Kumble should play the second of three Tests against the South Africans which starts in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

This emerged amid reports that the Indian camp does not favour the inclusion of two spin bowlers -- the other is Harbhajan Singh -- in the team.

Ganguly apparently feels that Kumble did not make enough breakthroughs in the first Test, which South Africa won by nine wickets with a day to spare.

But Wright defused the situation when he announced that Kumble would definitely be part of the plan for the second Test.

"We played in Bloemfontein (in the first Test) with only one spinner and the end result was very weak," Wright told the Afrikaans daily Beeld .

"The seam bowlers gave away six runs per over. Would it be wise to take a risk like that again?" he asked.

He said: "We must take into account Kumble and Harbhajan's record against teams who are not entirely comfortable against spinners.

"In this regard, we missed Harbhajan very much in Bloemfontein but Kumble actually did well to keep India in the picture after the seam bowlers went through a bad patch.

"Our bowlers must be able to withstand the demands of 90 overs per day. To get this right, the seam bowlers must be utilized carefully. It does not help if we land up with a situation where their fuel tanks are empty after the tea break.

"Ideally you want to use the seam bowlers in shifts of four or five at a time. In this respect Kumble is ideal, because he can bowl continuously from the other side and simultaneously cause a drought of runs.

"Sometimes you'd like to play with three seam bowlers, but our two best men are both spinners, so they'll have to play."

Wright also disclosed that he is considering bringing in V V S Laxman as opening batsman with Shiv Sunder Das. Rahul Dravid failed as opener in the first Test and Wright felt that he would be of greater use in the middle order.

Reacting to claims that Laxman had indicated his unhappiness with being an anchor, Wright said the needs of the national side take precedence over the personal interests of players.

Meanwhile, the Indian side has resorted to new measures to get in some practice ahead of the second Test. Frustrated with no practice after rain forced a game against the South African A side to be abandoned, the Indians will Tuesday play against each other in a simulated "Test" environment.

Wright said this was crucial to ensure team members got some action ahead of the Test. He said he is particularly concerned about left seam bowlers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan, who had "looked rusty" at Bloemfontein.

Wright said the bowlers who fared best in the practice game would make it to the team for Saturday.

While the rain frustrated the Indians, it also caused concern for South African players Daryll Cullinan and Jacques Rudolph, both of whom had hoped to impress the South African selectors in the South Africa A game in an effort to be chosen for the Tests.

Rudolph was selected on Wednesday after many calls on the selectors in the past few weeks to pay attention to his performance, among them from former captain Kepler Wessels.

Cullinan, a former hero on the national squad, will have to wait to see if he makes it on to the last Test against India, and whether he makes it on to the national side for a home and away Series against Australia next month.

Cullinan lost out when he opted to play for an English county side, resulting in his contract with the United Cricket Board of South Africa not being renewed. He was released from his English duties after a knee injury and returned to South Africa.

Indo-Asian News Service

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