Maharaj anoints Yuvraj

‘‘It (Opening) revolves around me, Sachin and Sehwag. It is definitely not out of question and it is a part of the thought,’’ he said.

Ganguly knows a thing or two about the importance of supporting the newcomers, an area which he, perhaps, had some bad memories in his own career. So when he took over the captaincy in 2001, Ganguly made it a point to back the youngsters to the hilt. ‘‘They (youngsters) are an important part of the team. They are very talented. We have a healthy dressing room which is important for any youngster because they come and look up to the guys who had been around for a while. They see that the atmosphere is competitive and cricket is the most important thing, they will get used to it. ‘‘Players like Kaif, Pathan, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Balaji, Zaheer and Harbhajan may not have number in terms of age but number in terms of games they played for country, they are experienced,’’ he said. Ganguly assumed his well-known candid face when asked about the prolonged role of Rahul Dravid as wicketkeeper, a matter of continued discussion in the cricketing fraternity.

Ganguly also hinted at continuing his policy of banking more on pace bowlers, which in effect cut the role of a third spinner.

‘‘I am really looking forward to the recovery of Harbhajan because he is a match-winner. Anil Kumble is bowling the best I have ever seen and Murali Kathik is coming up,’’ Ganguly said.