With India taking the field against New Zealand in two match test series against New Zealand, lot of talks on going around about the absence of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman from the line-up.
While everyone feels that the team will miss these two stalwarts, former India stumper Farokh Engineer doesn’t believe the team will miss Dravid and Laxman too much against New Zealand.
“I don’t think we will miss them much in this series. Of course, they are legendary cricketers and it will be difficult to replace them, but India is a far better team when playing at home,’ Farookh was quoted in Mid-Day.
“I feel, we are better than Australia and England at home. We have youngsters who can play well in home conditions, but we will miss them (Dravid and Laxman) very much when India plays abroad,” he added.
Engineer urged youngsters in the team to step up their game in order to fill the big shoes. “Dhoni has a lot of confidence in youngsters like Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina. It is time for them to step up their game. It won’t be easy for the youngsters to fill their shoes, but it is a great opportunity for them to prove their worth,” said the UK based Engineer.
“I don’t think New Zealand should pose any problems for us. We are far superior and it would be a shame if we fail to beat them. They are also without Daniel Vettori, who makes up nearly 30 per cent of the team. I am very confident of our boys at home.”