This is the best available talent we are taking: Ganguly

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly welcomed the selectors decision to include three new faces in the Indian squad to the ICC Knock out tournament in Nairobi from October 3-15. "This is the best available talent that we are taking to Kenya and the youngsters are all brilliant fielders", Ganguly told reporters on his arrival at Chennai.

Asked whether the match-fixing controversy had affected the team, a confident Ganguly replied that "The South Africans too were facing a crisis, but they bounced back to beat Australia. There is no reason why we cannot do the same. There will be no pressure. Nothing has been proved yet in the match-fixing allegation."

Ganguly who arrived in Chennai on Thursday to attend the remaining two days of the preparatory camp said he had seen most of the youngsters in the side at some part of their career. "I would be with the team for the last two days of the camp. I would be seeing more of them." He added that the inclusion of several newcomers "would come as a blessing in disguise for the team in the Kenya competition".

Replying to a question on whether he would feel the pinch of the absence of some key players, pat came Ganguly's reply: "All of them have contributed to the team's cause in the last ten years. They have been an integral part of the team. At the same time, we have to make good of what is available to us."

Commenting on pacer Zaheer Khan, Ganguly said "Zaheer is a good talent too. So far as I have seen him, he is very sharp. But I hope he has the mental strength to succeed at this level." On dashing left hander Yuvraj Singh, the Prince of Calcutta said he had a fantastic run in the Under-19 World Cup last year and was immensely talented.

On Delhi wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya's selection, Ganguly said "We have tried some wicket-keepers. The selectors have placed their confidence in Vijay Dahiya this time, let's see," and added that the team is in need of a keeper who could bat well in the slog overs.

Commenting on the team's chances, Ganguly said "it's how you perform on the particular day that counts for success. We have to get into the habit of winning. The game is all about confidence." On a possibile meeting with Australia he said, "We beat them in our first game of the last ICC tournament in Dhaka, and we could well repeat that. If we win against Australia in the second match, we are through to the semifinals." India take on Kenya in the inaugural match of the knock out tourney on October 3.