• The big question on this Indian tour to the West Indies so far has been the exclusion of one of the team’s most talented cricketers from the last one-day match and the first Test. Why has Irfan Pathan been rested?

He has played a lot of cricket in the last four months and he has had a lot of responsibility in the last four months, which for a young man can be quite draining. I am not sure whether he realised how draining it was. We have only had a few weeks off in the last 12 months. Part of the learning process is having time away, just to reflect on what’s happened and look at how you might continue that improvement.

We weren’t planning to rest him at this stage but we could tell that he was pretty tired, he was a little bit down on confidence, and the best thing we could do at this stage was pull him back and give him a bit of rest mentally and physically. Hopefully, when he comes back fresher and better, he would have had the time to reflect on a number of aspects of his cricket. And I have no doubt he will come back as a better cricketer.

• Is this loss of energy one of reasons why he has lost a significant amount of pace?

I don’t think it has gone down significantly. We have looked at all the videotapes, quite back till the under-19s. He was always bowling around the 130-135 kmph mark. He’s never going to be a pace bowler. I think people have to be disabused of this idea that he’s a pace bowler. He is a swing bowler, who bats well, and that’s his future with Indian cricket. Not as a fast bowler. I don’t know where this myth started but it’s time it was put to bed. He is not a fast bowler.

• You had benefited from renowned sports psychologist Dr Rudi Webster in your own playing days. Now he has worked with the Indian team, what has his contribution been?

We don’t know. I mean, he only had five days with us to interact with the players. Again, no one’s got a magic wand, it’s about exposing the players to different people and different expertise from different fields. We have done that with different people through the time that they have been here and we will continue to do that. I would like to think that we could use Dr Webster again, from time to time.

The biggest part of cricket at this level is the mental aspect of it. All of these guys can play, they wouldn’t have been here if they didn’t have the talent. The ones who go on and make something of that talent are the ones who develop their mental skills to go with it. Rudi talked to us as a group on these aspects and with individuals too. Again, this idea that someone can come along and make an impact instantly is folly.

• Will you seek his help for the 2007 World Cup?

We will wait and see, but the players were very impressed with him and a lot of them felt that they got some benefit. But that’s something the BCCI will decide. We will talk to them about it. But that will happen after this tour.

• You started your second year in office with the one-day series defeat against the West Indies, what impact would this have on the World Cup?

I didn’t expect things to continue going upward the whole time. We were always going to have a few setbacks along the way. Particularly, as this year we have three overseas tours. There are always going to be some tough moments in that period. This has been a setback, it’s been a disappointment, on the one hand. But in some ways, it might be a blessing in disguise, it has pointed out a few things. We have learnt a few things about conditions in the West Indies, which hopefully will help us next year.

• Have you identified your pool of players for the World Cup?

We have got a pool of around 20 players who have played in the past six to eight months. I think the squad will come out of that group, but I can’t tell you which 14 it is likely to be. That decision will be made as late as possible. A lot of things can change, form, fitness, one of those things can change the team’s needs between now and then.

• When the team loses, there is always this criticism that we need to look back at some of the seniors who are not there.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but we are looking at developing a team for the present and the future. To develop players, you have to give them opportunities. And you have to give them opportunities in the heat of battle. A number of players have been blooded in the last few months and I think most of them have responded reasonably well, most of them have had some success.

The development of the fringe people is equally important. RP Singh, Venugopala Rao and Robin Uthappa are going off to Australia with the A team. These guys, particularly RP Singh, has been around the group for a few months now, but hasn’t played a lot of cricket. What he needs for his development now is to play and have some success. That’s the next step in his development. So, the process is an ongoing one. We will have some setbacks along the way. We understand that. We can’t afford to overreact even if others do.

• How do you handle the senior players in the side? Are you happy with their commitment?