The World Cup champion will open its nine-match tour on
Saturday in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, with a one-off Twenty20.
Even without a host of great players, Raina said he liked
the look of his squad for the Twenty20 and five one-day internationals.
“It is a great honor to lead a young side,” he said on the
eve of the team's departure on Tuesday. “I am happy that most members have done
well in first-class cricket and the IPL. We hope to live up to expectations and
to execute our plans. It is very important that we stay focused and disciplined.
“We have always excelled under pressure and it is a very
good opportunity for youngsters. Players like Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli)
are capable of doing well.” Tendulkar was granted a rest from the entire trip
to recharge for the following tour of England. Khan will miss the limited-overs
matches to rest for the three tests.
Raina, who led a second-string India during limited-overs
matches in Zimbabwe last year, was handed the captaincy again when regular
skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was rested and his deputy, Gautam Gambhir, the
original choice for captain, was ruled out due to an injury.
Gambhir and other top-order batsman Virender Sehwag have
suffered shoulder injuries, pace bowler Ashish Nehra was nursing a finger
injury sustained during the World Cup, while allrounder Yuvraj Singh was out
with a lung infection.
Tendulkar, Khan, Dhoni, Gambhir, Sehwag, Nehra and Yuvraj will
miss the limited-overs games.
Dhoni will return to lead the side for the test series, but
India will remain without Tendulkar, Gambhir and Yuvraj.
The fluent left-handed Raina, who was in the thick of action
during the recent IPL playing for the eventual champion Chennai Super Kings,
was hoping his experience of the Caribbean will help achieve the desired
results.
“I have been to the West Indies in 2006 and during the 2007
World Cup,” Raina said. “I have learnt a lot from previous captains Dhoni,
(Anil) Kumble and (Rahul) Dravid and hope to put all my experience to good use.”
Raina said he respected West Indies even though India has won their last two
one-day series.
“They have plenty of good all-rounders like (Kieron) Pollard
and (Dwayne) Bravo but we have a balanced side and a good bunch of youngsters.
It is all about gelling well and moving forward,” he said.
Raina added it was important to strike a rapport with new
coach Duncan Fletcher, who helped pick the one-day and test squads last week.
“I am well aware of responsibilities that we (team staff)
have been given,” Fletcher said. “I am amazed at the amount of talent in India
and there is a very good chance of maintaining our success.” Fletcher said
winning in England and Australia would be the biggest challenges, but their
focus for now was on West Indies.
“We would like to beat England in England and Australia in
Australia. But the first job is the tour of West Indies,” Fletcher said.
“It's very important not to look too far down the road.
India have a plan to stay at the top. The young players have
the potential and this tour will show the depth of talent.”
