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LET’S ROCK AND ROLL . . . Zimbabwe interim coach Makhaya Ntini (right) shares a lighter moment with his skipper Graeme Cremer at a media conference in Harare yesterday

Eddie Chikamhi Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE interim coach Makhaya Ntini has urged his players to send a strong message by “sweeping” the India side “under the carpet” in the One Day International Series that starts at Harare Sports Club this morning. Ntini, who leads Zimbabwe in his first assignment as national team coach, says he wants his charges to put behind them a dark past of poor results by winning the three-match series.

The Chevrons, who have a full strength team, will be looking for a positive start against the touring side. “Winning the series is my main target, it’s one of the things in any coach/captain’s career. Even from the players’ point of view, they want to win. “As the head coach, I want to win. There is no such thing like impossible, it can be done.

“We have the players who are ready, the likes of Hamilton (Masakadza) who has played more cricket that anyone in the side, Vusi (Sibanda) and (captain Graeme) Cremer. Zimbabwe has been ignored for long so the guys are hungry (for international matches).

“Zimbabwe is starved a lot and that on its own tells you what has happened. We do not have to worry about what is in front of us today. We are creating a new venture here. We want to make sure that this country is recognised, and get to play more games.

“If you send us a team that you think is going to play Zimbabwe and is not the strongest team we are going to put them under the carpet and then they go home and tell them that guys we are no longer playing with a team of Zimbabwean that we used to think of. We are playing with a stronger team now and we need to send a stronger team,” said Ntini.

India interim coach Sanjay Bangar said he was not worried about what the Zimbabweans are plotting for them but believes results will tell at the end of the tour.

“We believe that performance speak, we have a bunch of talented players. They have done really well in the domestic championships and in the Indian circuit. We do not want to give too much attention to what the opposition is saying,” said Bangar.

Mahindra Singh Dhoni is the most experienced player in the touring India side. Dhoni missed the media conference yesterday but the coach said he is excited to lead a young side on this tour.

“He is very excited to be part of a young bunch of players, it has been a very long time since he last got a chance to play with young players and pass on his experience. He has resigned from Test cricket so he is very keen to play in all of the games.

“It’s an international game and all of us believe an international game has to be played with the same sort of intensity and that is what the youngsters are looking forward to. We want to play as good as we can,” said Bangar.

India squad:MS Dhoni (captain), KL Rahul, Faiz Fazal, Manish Pandey, Karun Nair, Ambati Rayudu, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Barinder Sran, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Zimbabwe ODI squad: Graeme Cremer (capt), Richmond Mutumbami (wk), Taurai Muzarabani, Chamu Chibhabha, Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Vusi Sibanda, Tawanda Mupariwa, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Neville Madziva, Donald Tiripano, Timycen Maruma, Wellington Masakadza, Tendai Chisoro, Hamilton Masakadza, Tendai Chatara, Craig Ervine.