Engineer: 'Back Ganguly to come good'

The former Indian wicketkeeper, Farokh Engineer, believes that the best guarantee of success against England is to back the men who have done the job in the past. Engineer, 67, played 46 Tests for India between 1961 and 1975, and was outspoken in his support of two of the veterans of the current side, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

Speaking to Cricinfo at the Sony Television Asian Sports Personality of the Year awards in London, Engineer conceded that the recent feud between Ganguly and India's coach, Greg Chappell, had been damaging for team morale, but believed the two men could bury their differences for the common good.

"It hasn't gone right from the start, and there's been an undercurrent that everyone can see," said Engineer. "They've tried to bury the hatchet, but once the damage is done it's difficult to regroup and get that morale going. I hope for India's sake they both bow their heads down, because the country's at stake and that should be put foremost. For India's sake, let's hope things get on better and they start winning games.

"Ganguly's been a great servant of India," he added. "He improved vastly as a captain over the years, and he's had his enemies as I'm sure he's had his fans. And when things don't go right, your enemies tend to put in the knife and that's what's happened to a certain extent. I'm glad it hasn't affected his morale because he's still playing well - I see his bowling got a couple of wickets - so let's hope this undercurrent ceases to exist.

Ganguly played only a bit-part in the recent Test series defeat against Pakistan and was not selected for the one-dayers, but Engineer believed he was still worth a place in the side. "You can't be a Test player all these years and overnight become a nobody. I wouldn't replace Ganguly unless India have a youngster who's good enough to fill his shoes. If they believe do, then maybe they should certainly think twice."

Engineer was equally forthright about Tendulkar's place in the side. In the Tests against Pakistan he was found out by Shoaib Akhtar's extreme pace, but has since returned to form in the one-day series. "What Sachin has achieved, no other Indian has achieved," he stressed. "He surpassed [Sunil] Gavaskar's record which is a tremendous feat for a young man - and for me, Sachin will always be a young man.

"With his experience he'll carry on. Why put him into retirement, just because he's going through a lean patch? He's too good a player, and I hope he continues for many years to come. I think England are in for a bit of a rough time, because when Sachin goes through a bad patch, he's dangerous, and when he's dangerous he's at his best. In my opinion, England better watch out."

Tendulkar has had his injury problems in recent times, and is struggling with a persistent elbow problem, but Engineer believed his time away from the game would help prolong his career. "He's been headline new for 16 years, but the break he recently had from cricket will have freshened him up a little bit. It could work wonders, and I hope he returns a better player even than he was before. He'll be full of runs, I'm sure, because he's not short of confidence."

Both sides enter the series in the wake of high-profile defeats against Pakistan, and Engineer was full of praise for the manner in which Pakistan's coach, Bob Woolmer, had galvanised his troops. "Pakistan lacked unity in the past, they had great individual players but they never combined well. And you've got to give credit to Woolmer for that, he's done a tremendous job because Pakistan are playing supremely well and playing some terrific cricket.

"It'll be a challenge for the Indian boys to pick themselves up and try and beat England," Engineer added, after India slumped to a 341-run defeat in the decisive third Test at Karachi last month. "They should learn from their mistakes in this last Test match and pick up the plus points, capitalise on those, and play better.

"India are not a very good side at saving a Test match," he explained. "They are very good at winning, and had they needed 350 to win they might have had a good chance. But they had their backs to the wall and it's very difficult just to block, especially on the fourth day of a Test match when the wicket's deteriorating. But all credit to Pakistan, they played superbly and deserved to win."

As for England's prospects, Engineer believed the return of Simon Jones would make a big difference to their side. "England missed him big-time in Pakistan, because he's the only bowler capable of reversing the ball. But there's Andrew Flintoff as well. He's such a great bloke and an outstanding cricketer, and take his name away from the team, and England would be a pretty ordinary side. He's already on a par with Botham, if not better, and he's young, fit, and hungry for success and anything can happen.

"It'll be a very good series," he concluded. "It would take a brave or a daft man to predict one way or the other. My heart says India, but both sides are good enough to bounce back, and I'm sure they will. This is a contest that will sort the men from the boys."