India's captain Rahul Dravid says the team will not only miss Sachin Tendulkar's batting, but also his contribution with the ball in the forthcoming one-day international series against England.
Speaking on the eve of the first ODI against England in Delhi on Monday, he said, "Losing Sachin as a batsman is very tough. Sachin did a great job for us in Pakistan with his bowling. We will need to look for other options. Hopefully, we will look for a few overs from Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag.
He also said Virender Sehwag has recovered from a back injury and will start in Tuesday's first ODI.
"Sehwag underwent a couple of days' training. He went through all kinds of exercises and practice in the last two days. He batted, bowled, fielded, and throughout he looked better. So I think Sehwag should be fit to play tomorrow. But regarding our openers and our team combination, we won't divulge it at the moment," he added.
The Indian team was dealt a severe blow in Mumbai, going down by 212 runs in the third Test to the inexperienced English team.
But Dravid believes that the past is behind and the boys are looking at the one-dayers with renewed vigour.
"Similarly, in Pakistan we were beaten in the last Test match in Karachi and then in the first one-dayer, but we came back strongly and did well in the one-dayers. As an international sportsperson I don't think that you keep thinking about what has happened last week."
India has done exceedingly well in the shorter version of the game -- winning 12 of the 16 games they played in. They beat Sri Lanka 6-1 at home, then drew 2-2 against South Africa and crushed Pakistan 4-1 in their own backyard.
"In one-dayers, we have done well, but in Tests the top order hasn't fired. But in one-dayers the top order has done well and our lower order also has contributed some runs. The upcoming games will give us a good chance to test our squad," the 33-year-old said.
Fast bowler Munaf Patel didn't bowl in the nets today, but Dravid said it was just a precautionary measure.
"Munaf has a slight bruise on his heel, but it is nothing serious. It is just a precaution that we didn't want him to bowl today."
He also believes that the emergence of a few new fast bowlers has given the squad more options.
"It gives us an option to rotate our fast bowlers. We have been playing a lot of cricket so we have to be careful with our young fast bowlers. In the past we have seen that we have pushed players too hard and they have been prone to injuries. So we would be looking to rotate a few of them while giving them proper rest.
"The depth in fast bowling is nice and the future is looking bright," said the Karnataka batsman, who has been appointed Indian captain till the 2007 World Cup.
Dravid believes that England will again provide a stiff challenge in the one-day series after the spirited display in the Test series, which ended at 1-1.
"England is a good side; they have shown that in the Test series. They have played some good one-day cricket over the years as well. Their middle order includes players like Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff; on their day can be very dangerous. We got a chance to test ourselves against Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan, who were very good one-day teams, and now this is another opportunity.
"It is a good chance for us to see how we are progressing; how we are developing and how we can keep improving. It's been our goal to see how we can develop as a one-day side, what we need to do," he said.
He said he was disappointed by the Indian fielding in the Test series as the team spilled a number of easy catches.
"Yes, I was disappointed with our fielding in the Test series, especially in the Mumbai Test, but we have fielded very well in the one-dayers. We need to address the situation by the time we play the next Test series and look at where we place our fielders.
"I am impressed with our fielding in the one-dayers. But you just can't relax, you need to keep improving and keep getting better. England are a great fielding side, so it's a good chance to pick up a few things from them."
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