NEW DELHI, 17 February 2004 — India’s cricket captain Saurav Ganguly yesterday set at rest speculation that top stars may pull out of the Pakistan tour, saying he looked forward to playing there.

“Most of the team members have not played any Test cricket in Pakistan. So we are kind of keen to go there,” Ganguly told the Mid-Day newspaper in his first public comments after the government gave the green signal for the ice-breaking tour last week.

India are to play three Tests and five One-Day Internationals on their first full tour of Pakistan in almost 15 years, scheduled to begin in early March.

The detailed itinerary is expected to be announced this week.

The go-ahead for the tour came on Saturday after a week of media speculation that the Home Ministry wanted the tour to be put off till after the parliamentary elections due in April and May.

Ganguly had earlier voiced security concerns about the tour, but appeared satisfied following the recent visit to Pakistan of a three-member delegation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The delegation, which will return to New Delhi later, included a security expert from the Home Ministry.

The Indian captain said he was confident the best available squad will undertake the tour. “I will not force anybody to come,” he said. “If any cricketer is concerned about security in Pakistan, I think we should accept that.” The Mid-Day said all the senior players it spoke to, including star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, indicated they will tour.

Tendulkar, who made his international debut on the previous tour of Pakistan in 1989, is the only current player from either side to be involved in a Test match between the archrivals on Pakistani soil.

Ganguly’s only worries centered around injuries sustained by his main bowlers, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh on the recent tour of Australia.

Of the four, off-spinner Harbhajan has been ruled out of the Pakistan tour due to surgery on his bowling hand. Zaheer and Agarkar have hamstring worries while Kumble has a sore shoulder.

“I think if we go at full strength, we can beat Pakistan,” Ganguly said.

“Pakistan will be formidable rivals at home. We have to seriously think about the fitness of the bowlers.

“We should go with an off-spinner. In the absence of Harbhajan, we should find one off-spinner who can produce big turn.”

Ganguly said the three-week rest after the Australian tour was sufficient, but hoped the team will have a short training camp before departing for Pakistan.

The Indian team for the tour will be finalized later this month.

New Zealand Targeting Pollock in 2nd One-Dayer

New Zealand plan to mount a full scale assault on South African bowler Shaun Pollock in today’s second One-Day International in Christchurch.

South Africa won the first of six matches last Friday and remain heavy favorites to win today. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said their batting would revolve around trying to upset the opposition’s best bowler.

“Pollock has slowed his pace, he uses line and length, and on a good wicket if we can break him up then we go quite a long way to breaking up their patterns,” Fleming said of former Proteas skipper Pollock, poised five short of becoming the first South African to take 300 One-Day International wickets.

“If we can interrupt (South African captain) Graeme Smith’s routine with his bowlers, then we’ll have a better chance of beating them.”

Gaining some dominance in the top order will represent a turnaround from the series opener when the Black Caps were always battling after being 79 for four.

There are still question marks over the recent form of newcomer Michael Papps and Hamish Marshall but they will enjoy the change to a better, faster Jade Stadium pitch where they can deflect the ball.

A bonus came New Zealand’s way today with in-form South Africa batsman Smith leaving training early to visit a doctor after picking up the flu in recent days.

He did not front the pre-match media conference but coach Eric Simons was not overly concerned. “He’s a bit bunged up in his throat and chest. He’s been on antibiotics but he’ll be all right,” Simons said. “He batted well in the nets and I’m sure he’ll be fine. We’ll check him in the morning.”

Sri Lanka Hope to Trap Aussies on Turners

In Colombo, Sri Lanka’s one-day captain Marvan Atapattu yesterday sounded a warning to Australia, saying the world champions will find it difficult to cope with turning tracks and hot weather.

Australia have always struggled to do justice to their stature in Sri Lanka where they have so far won just three of their 14 one-dayers, including defeats in the last two big matches. Sri Lanka stunned Steve Waugh’s Australians in a triangular series final in 1999 before reasserting their home supremacy with a seven-wicket win over Ricky Ponting’s team in the 2003 Champions Trophy semifinal.

“The heat and slow pitches are a factor that would be a matter of concern,” Atapattu told the Daily News ahead of the five-match limited-overs series beginning with a day-night game at Dambulla on Friday.