'They have nothing to lose; they go to SA as underdogs'

Madan Lal Sharma was also known as Madad Lal during his playing days. That's because whenever India dug a hole for themselves, he was there to help them crawl out of it.

Since those heady days, 'Madipa' has had a not-too-successful stint as coach of the Indian cricket team and is presently on the selection commitee.

Coach of the team when India last toured South Africa in 1996-97, the former allrounder told Ashish Magotra what the boys should guard against in South Africa.

What are the chances of this team coming back victorious from South Africa?

In fact, their chances are pretty good. It is a young team, but it is an experienced team. With Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Anil Kumble now back from injury, the team is a good mix of youth and experience. In fact, even those who haven't played too many Tests have played in at least 20 to 30 ODIs, with the exception of Deep Dasgupta, who will make his debut there. For him it is a baptism by fire, and he just might come out fighting to prove his class.

Do you think going there early is going to be an advantage?

Definitely, it's going to be very helpful. But all the main players should play practice matches to help the players to get into rhythm and adapt to the different conditions prevailing in the country.

Anything that the Indian team should guard against on the tour to South Africa?

No real danger as such. They just have to get confident early-on into the tour; win the tour games. All the top bowlers and players should play in all the matches as they have to get acclimatized.

They have to believe in their ability to win. Playing positive cricket is very important. They should not be scared. They have nothing to lose; they go to SA as underdogs. They have to plan beforehand and, most importantly, stick to the plan.

If I had it my way I would have had at least three four-day games. Let me be very honest: we have to play good cricket to win. We have to bat well; if their bowlers can exploit the conditions, then so can ours. If we can get 350-400 runs in the first innings things should be very interesting.

If you had to make a choice between Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, who would you play?

Kumble has a lot of experience and he has been a top spinner throughout his career. He has taken over 250 wickets and played in South Africa before. Even after having struggled with injury for the past year, Kumble definitely should be more effective than Harbhajan.

Any lessons that you learnt from 1996?

1. We have to bat positively. If there are horizontal bat shots that have to be played, we have to play them.
2. When you are at the wicket you have to score runs; no use just hanging around. The sensible thing is to go for your shots and things will happen.
3. The slip cordon has to be very good. There will be a lot of catches in the slips and we have to take every chance we get.
4. Stick to plans.
5. Bowling on good tracks is an art. Our bowlers should not get carried away with the bounce that they get from the tracks and should concentrate on the plan in mind.

Any message for the Indian team?

I am sure they will do well; they all want to do well. They should play with confidence and things will turn out just fine.

Interviews

Mail Cricket Editor