Mumbai, May 31: Embarking on the tour to West Indies as world champions but without the services of the key members of the World Cup 2011 winning squad is quite a task. Newly appointed stand-in skipper Suresh Raina and new coach Duncan Fletcher addressed the press ahead of the first overseas tour for India after the CWC win.

Excerpts from the media-conference:

On the tour to WI, his captaincy and whether the absence of senior players makes a difference

Suresh Raina:This is a good opportunity for youngsters. I hope that I live up to the expectations and I am really looking forward to it.

On addressing a media-conference as captain of Team India

Raina: It’s a great honour, to be honest, and I’m feeling very proud to be part of this team. We have won this World Cup and we have new coach Duncan Fletcher. It’s a very good opportunity for all the youngsters and I hope they do well in the West Indies.

On facing challenging conditions in the West Indies

Raina: It is a challenge. We have good all-rounders, we have good bowlers who bat well as well as bowl. And I’m really happy for the team as they have done really well in first-class cricket and in the IPL. So I am looking forward to this opportunity.

On the challenges of taking up coaching duties for a team on top of the cricketing world

Duncan Fletcher: I was very well aware of that before I signed the contract and took on the job but what is amazing is the amount of talent in India. I think they are very, very fortunate having the great players that are around. Having come over here and worked with New Zealand before, I saw this talent and I saw India had a very good chance for maintaining the position that they are in having all the talent that they have got around them.

On his thoughts about resting senior players

Fletcher: It was something that, when I was touring with England, I was heavily criticised for by the England authorities […] It is something that we are just going to look at as time progresses.

On the biggest challenge on the WI tour given India’s recent successes

Raina: We have a very good team. I think we have a very good bunch of young players that have done very well in first-class cricket and I am really happy to see they’re challenged [by the conditions]. […] I hope they well do well in the West Indies and it’s a very good opportunity for them, actually.

On the turning point for India that led to their recent run of form

Raina: There is no turning point. […] The coach has to just give you ideas but you have to execute your plans on the field. But it’s the job of the players [as to how] they react on the field. It’s very important for us to do well in the West Indies and a lot of young players are very keen to do well there.

On the pressure on him to perform

Raina: There will be pressure in all games. We have always done well under pressure; it is very important for the young players to play their natural game and it’s a very good opportunity for all the young players.

On whether he has planned any of his own strategies for the tour as captain

Raina: No, I went to West Indies when Rahul Dravid was captain. We won the Test series there in 2006 when we went for the World Cup. I think it’s all because of the key players - they have to do really well in West Indies when it comes to Test cricket. But we have young players thanks to the selectors. They gave a chance to young players and they have done really well in first class cricket.

On the relative merits and demerits of having a side composed of youngsters

Fletcher: All these things have their advantages and disadvantages. It’s ideal to play with these young guys, especially one-dayers, where sometimes we need to [ease them in]. In Test cricket, it’s a lot harder, a lot more difficult for them. It’s going to be an honour for me to work with them. And seeing the talent that’s there around, I am excited about the job and India should be excited about what’s ahead of them in the next three months.

On exiting coach Gary Kirsten

Raina: He has done really well in the last three years; we have done really well in Test matches in One-day cricket and in the World Cup also but like I said earlier, it’s very important for the players to execute their plans on the field especially when it comes to Twenty20 and the 50-over game. It’s a fast game and you have to be [at] full intensity when it comes to body language. I think it’s very important for the players individually.

On the challenge faced by youngsters on the tour

Raina: It would definitely be a challenge but like I said before, we have good players who have done well in domestic [cricket] and this is a good opportunity for them. And all of them are very enthusiastic and I hope that we will play well on reaching there and do well for the country.

On whether the Australia and South Africa tours would be the real test for him as coach

Fletcher: I think it’s very important that we don’t look too far down the road because it is important [to do well] just before that. I do appreciate that it’s fine that India want to do well and win in England as well and Australia like everyone does, but first of all we must really look at the West Indies tour. We have got these young players who show this potential; we’ve got to make sure that the potential is shown to the rest of India and the rest of the world and [proclaim] that India has a plan to stay at the top and we’ve got to start with at the series in the West Indies.

On player management given the tight schedule ahead and the injuries and missing players

Fletcher: From my perspective, I have come in here as a new coach, this is the opportunity that has been given to me, whatever it is and really, all I want to do is work with these young players as I mentioned earlier, just to go out there and win that series against West Indies. There’s a very good chance and I am excited and there is no doubt that we can do that and it just shows the depth of India and it can take India forward for the next four to six years which is very important.

On his thoughts about the current West Indies side

Fletcher: We hear this all the time any side you talk [about] - that they are weak and they are not as strong as they used to be. I think it’s very important for us as the management that every time you tour somewhere, [you assume] any home side is very difficult to beat no matter where you are touring. It’s crucial that we go there seeing them as how they are. They are a strong nation, we don’t get complacent and they are capable playing some very good cricket as we have seen it in the IPL. They’ve got some very exciting cricketers and we’ve got to be aware of that. At the end of the day we have to make sure that we are on top of our job and look at how we play the game and take it from there.

On the impact of Chris Gayle’s absence

Raina: We have [R] Ashwin who bowled very well in the IPL and I won’t be surprised if after two one-day games he comes in. But I am looking forward to the challenge. And like you said, though there is no Gayle, their team is well balanced. They have always done well in West Indies so I think it’s a challenge for us and we will do well.

On WI too having a young side as seen against Pakistan

Raina:We are going to have a very good competition over there, they have plenty of good all-rounders like [Kieron] Pollard and [Dwayne] Bravo. They have good cricketers, they have a couple of match-winners also. But we have a very balanced side - we have good opening batsmen. Then in the middle we have a bunch of players [that] can hit the ball any time. It is very important to stay focussed, stay disciplined; we have been playing a lot of matches and that is going to give us confidence to do well in West Indies.

On whether he monitored the IPL closely as a talent pool

Fletcher: In South Africa they showed every single game - you make sure you sit and watch like you sit and watch other cricket as well. [I] watched some of the Pakistan- West Indies cricket series [too]. And this is one of the things I do - I watch a lot of sports on TV.

On what he has learnt from previous captains and any specific advice received from them

Raina: Yeah, I’ve learnt a lot from Anil Kumble, [MS] Dhoni and Rahul Dravid. They have been very honest with their captaincy but as a captain, if you have a good team, you just have to play your game. You have to be positive all the time. And like I said, like Duncan said, it’s very important to gel together as a team and be disciplined, do proper practice and I hope we will do well in West Indies.

On picking out match-winning players from the team

Raina: A lot of young players like Rohit Sharma, Virat [Kohli], Manoj [Tiwary] , Shikhar Dhawan - all the batsmen have done really well in first-class cricket, especially [S] Badrinath. He came to the side and scored lots of runs in domestic cricket. I am really happy with the side.

On the World Cup felicitation programme scheduled for later in the evening

Raina: BCCI has organised the function really well. We all meet in the evening - winning the World Cup is like a dream come true. All [of us] coming together would be motivating and all the young players who come will also get to learn a lot for the West Indies tour, so I am looking forward to that.

On his thoughts about the club vs country debate

Fletcher: I think it’s just the way with modern sport. If you look at the other sports, it’s the same way. The way sports are going, we’ve got to make sure we get out there. Try and keep players fit enough to play those games.

On players having little time to acclimatise on reaching WI

Fletcher: That’s something we probably have to look back at in hindsight. It’s very difficult for me to answer […] We have got a short time [to acclimatise]. The players have fortunately been playing a lot of cricket, so they shouldn’t be short of match practice. It’s just a matter of how they travel and will take it from there.

Raina: He’s right.