Former Aussie coach John Buchanan feels it is too early to put India on par with the team from Down Under after the MS Dhoni-led side's victory in the recent triangular one day engagements, as one series triumph is not enough to make such assertions.
"I think it is too early to say whether India and Australia are on level terms. One series does not make any difference. One should have a look at Australia's record over the last eight years," Buchanan told newspersons in Kolkata on Monday.
The coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders in BCCI's multi-million dollar Indian Premier League was responding to a query whether the power base in world cricket has shifted after India humbled Ricky Ponting's men in two straight finals of the Comonwealth Bank series.
"And it all (whether India will emerge as the number one team) depends on how they play in the coming series," said Buchanan, who turns 56 next month.
Buchanan lauded the Indian selectors for choosing a youthful side for the ODIs, but said its performance in Test matches needed to be watched.
"The Indian selectors have done a good job by picking this team for the Twenty20 format and ODIs. But one should have a look at how these players perform in the longer version of the game," he said hours after arriving in the city.
Buchanan would hold discussions with Kolkata Knight Riders captain Sourav Ganguly and Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan, whose Red Chillies Entertainment owns the team.
He would also be present at Tuesday's programme in a five star hotel where the side's logo would be unveiled.
Buchanan felt the IPL would be a good experience for him. He also lavished praise on Ganguly, saying "Sourav is a real competitor. He will be a good captian in this type of the game also."
Buchanan did not think that the spate of controversies during India's trip to Australia would have any bearing on the IPL which begins from April 18.
"The IPL teams are made of players from different countries. I don't think any tension will prevail among the Australian and Indian players," he said.
He opined that Ponting still had lot of cricket left in him.
"He still has got 100 per cent of cricket left in him. At the moment he is only going through a lean patch." On leg spin legend Shane Warne's description of him as a 'goose' and somebody 'who had no idea and lacked common sense', Buchanan blamed the media for blowing Warne's comments out of proportion.
"I understand him and how he operates. I think too much has been made out of his comments," he said. Launching a scathing attack on Buchanan, the leggie had also said "I don't think he has made one good point in a long time. He is living in a pixy land. We had to listen to his verbal diarrhoea all the time."
But Buchanan on Monday chose to play it down.
"He speaks his mind. I think he is a champ for his contribution to the game. One can only raise questions on his off-field activites."
