Hyderabad, Aug 22: India’s first Test against New Zealand in Hyderabad bears a rather unhappy significance. It will be the first time India take the field in whites after the retirement of two of their best Test batsmen. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will not be there to strengthen the middle and lower-middle order. And they won’t be there to guard the slip cordon either.

Although in his pre-series press conference, skipper MS Dhoni described their absence as an opportunity for youngsters, he hoped someone from the team will fill the void left by the two legends.

Excerpts:

How difficult will it be for the team to cope with life after Dravid and Laxman?

These are two great players whom we’ll definitely miss on the field. But that’s how it is. They won’t be playing for us anymore. All we can do now is look at the situation in the way that it gives the youngsters an opportunity to take a step further and shoulder the responsibility to bat in the longest format [of the game]. We’re hoping some of them will grab this chance and do well.

The team will not only miss them in the batting line-up but also in the slip cordon. Have you decided on who will replace them there?

We’re hoping that we won’t miss them in the slip cordon at least. When it comes to scoring runs and the experience they had, it’s going to be difficult without them. As far as the slip cordon is concerned, we’ve seen some of the youngsters like Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina do well there. [Virender] Sehwag, who already stands there, will most likely be at first slip.

Yes, it could be an issue when the spinners are bowling and get the awkward bounce. That’s where we’ll miss Rahul bhai. But we have to look ahead and give some youngsters an opportunity. Maybe one of them could take a few catches for us.

You’ve spoken about preparing spin-friendly tracks for home Test matches. How do you assess this wicket?

There’s nothing wrong in preparing spinner-friendly wickets. I’ve always said that when you go to different countries to play cricket, you expect certain conditions and get them. So, when people come to the sub-continent, they have to encounter wickets that assist spinners. We’re hoping there will be something for the spinners in this wicket. The red soil content is more, which means even fast bowlers may get a bit of bounce. As of now, it seems that the spinners may get a bit of bounce and turn as the game progresses.

What is the status on Zaheer Khan’s fitness?

I asked the physio about the players’ fitness status and he said apart from himself, everyone in the camp is fit and available for selection.

This will be India’s first Test series of the season and it’s important to start well. What is the team’s idea of starting the season well?

We are expected to win this series and start the season on a winning note. That means looking ahead 15 days, which we don’t want to do. As of now, we just want to start the first Test well. We haven’t played Test cricket since the last six-seven months. Hence, when we take the field tomorrow, we’ll look to do the small things right.

If we’re bowling first, we cannot go thinking we have to get three quick wickets up front. Even for the batsmen it’s important to get into the Test match groove and give some respect to the bowlers. This is one format where you can afford to do that. By starting well, we mean winning hours, sessions and days. If we do that, we win the Test match.

The last time New Zealand came here for a Test series, they put up a good fight. Will memories of that series play a role in your approach against them?

The memories I have of the last series are two back-to-back centuries by Harbhajan Singh. We will miss him this time. We were in a position from where we could’ve lost a Test. But Harbhajan put his hands up and saved us with those centuries. Having said that, I don’t like to look back at what happened in the past. Players can get in form in a span of 10 deliveries and teams get their form back in one or half a game. It’s important for us to look into the areas that we have to work on and that is what we did in the last concluded ODI series in Sri Lanka; that’s what we’ll do in Test cricket as well.

Is there a feeling of desperation to win this series after losing the last eight Tests?

We never get desperate as that puts extra burden on the team. We just prepare well and focus on the process rather than the result. Yes, we did have disappointing last eight Tests but the positive side is it cannot get any worse than that for us. The only way is up.