TRINIDAD AND Tobago skipper Daren Ganga emphasised that the national team has the depth to compensate for the loss of all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard for the forthcoming Nokia Champions League T20 in India next month.

“Categorically speaking, the national team isn’t centred around one or two players, and that is how we play cricket. We play as a team and a unit. There are no stars on our team, with all due respect to Kieron and Dwayne, as they’ve done remarkably well for TT. We will miss their services but at the end of the day, we have players who are willing to step up and perform the particular roles we require as a team to get the job done,” said Ganga.

The “Red Force” captain contended that the end result for the team is much bigger than the individual performances and that management are eyeing a well-molded, unified performance to achieve full success. With respect to the preparations for the forthcoming Champions League, Ganga confirmed that in the interim, they are preparing for a potential mini-tour to Guyana, coupled with the Balls of Fire match.

He reiterated, with respect to their on-the-field aspect of the game, “We’re working on a couple of things. This is an opportunity for the technical team and the players to sit down and look at areas for improvement. There’s a lot of specialised work happening right now in our downtime.

“We’re training a lot in the field. Match simulations with respect to chasing targets, setting our own targets, spot-bowling and strategic analysis are things that we have to lay the foundation down for. We must do this prior to the tournament so that we can enter on auto-pilot and hit the ground running in India.”

Ganga also heaped praise on the technical staff’s ability and succinct, planned structure to work with and optimise the individual characteristics and strengths of the players.

The captain also hailed the return of key bowlers, Kevon Cooper and Sunil Narine, following their trip to Australia to analyse their bowling actions. Ganga confirmed they were in the all-clear after the remedial works and testings and they were now looking to soldier on with two of their biggest bowling assets.

“These gents were instrumental when we won the Caribbean title in Barbados and we are ecstatic to have these young players back. They want to lead us to victory and no doubt they will step up as they have huge impacts in terms of our team performances. They are hungry for success, as is the entire team,” Ganga noted.

When asked about the new funding boost from the Government, Ganga admitted that mini-tournaments against high quality international opposition would be essential on the agenda and a welcomed venture into exposing and lifting the games of the younger players coming into the foray.

“I’ve always advocated playing against competitive Test-ranked teams and ICC teams. Also, I’ve always tried to maintain dialogue with the TTCB with respect to playing reputable teams for our own cricketing benefit. The challenge with that scheme however, is the scheduling problems, as such teams and players are either on a season-break or caught up in international cricket. It is difficult to get such scheduling at our convenience.”

Ganga admitted they were on course in their preparations and goals, while confirming the team was high in self-belief and confidence.

“Our focus is now two-phased with respect to fine-tuning as a team, and also playing the right amount of competitive games without burning ourselves out. We don’t want to enter the tournament jaded so it’s all about finding that right balance at the moment,” he added.

Ganga allayed concerns voiced by fans with his disposition that the forthcoming T20 qualifiers against Sri Lankan and English opposition were not as high-pressured as many assume.

He recalled that TT faced a similar scenario in 2009 en route to finishing second at that T20 tournament. The combative, yet critical-thinking skipper, reaffirmed that these qualifiers were just another part of the tournament and reassured that no matter what round of matches they are encompassed in, they have set out to overcome all opposition.

“Our mentality is to decimate all. That is the sort of prowess, fearlessness and ruthlessness we have inculcated in our mindsets. That is where our focus lies in our preparations,” said Ganga.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt