Tendulkar won’t open v WI

Sachin Tendulkar is due to slot into India’s middle order for the first one-day international against the West Indies, according to captain Rahul Dravid. Sourav Ganguly will therefore mark his return to the ODI team, opening the batting alongside Gautam Gambhir. Dravid stated that the left-handed partnership is hoped to counteract the West Indies opening bowlers.

The move puts an end to the immense expectation that Tendulkar and Ganguly would be reunited at the top of the order, as one of the most famous of ODI opening partnerships. Dravid noted that the role of the middle order in India’s World Cup campaign will be crucial and that Sachin Tendulkar is best equiped to bolster that section of the team’s batting.

Dravid would not reveal whether India would play an extra batsman or an extra spinner in the game, instead saying that it will be a toss-up between the two.