Talking to reporters after unveiling the Compaq Cup 2009, which will be given to the winner of the tri-series also featuring New Zealand, Harbhajan conceded it would not be easy to replace players like Sehwag and Zaheer but felt the team could still pull it off.
“Sehwag is a key player. Any team in the world would miss a player like him. But now that he would not be playing, we would have to do well without him,” Harbhajan said.
He said the return of veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid would offset Sehwag’s loss.
“We are a strong team and it’s a balanced side. Besides, we have a number of match-winning players in the ranks. We have the youngsters and then you have experienced players like Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. If we play to our potential, we would return with this lovely trophy,” he said after unveiling world’s first digital sports trophy.
Like Sehwag, Zaheer too underwent a shoulder surgery which ruled him out of the tri-series and the subsequent Champions Trophy but Harbhajan seemed to have enough trust on other pacers to pull it off.
“Zaheer is such an experienced bowler and it’s unfortunate that he would not be playing. We are going to miss him,” Harbhajan said.
“However, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been doing well and they will have to step up to the plate and deliver,” he said.
“Overall, we have got enough talent and we did well against New Zealand at their home and also in Sri Lanka. Over the last two years, we have beaten every side. We just need to play to our potential to win the tri-series.
“It’s an important series for us because right after that, we play the Champions Trophy, which is a big event for us,” he said. Both Dravid and Nehra are making a comeback to the ODI fold.
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