Abbas tells India to keep experience

Karachi: Former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas has warned India that it would be a grave mistake to dump its senior players who have been the cornerstone of its strong batting line-up.

Zaheer, who was a prolific batsman, said it was never easy to replace experienced players and India would pay the price if they opted to say goodbye to the quartet of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman.

Zaheer said: "It is really difficult to get a top class Test batsman because a player needs time to mature. That is why it is very important to retain experienced players," he added.

Major debate

A major debate has been going on in India over the future of the 'Fab Four' particularly following India's 2-1 defeat in the three Test series in Sri Lanka in August.

Dravid made 148 in six innings and was followed by Ganguly (96) and Tendulkar (95). Laxman excelled in patches with 215 runs but he too was not at his best.

Indian cricket officials are now under pressure to blood youngsters in the Test side but Zaheer said they should take calculated risks.

"I don't see any youngster in India who can replace players like Tendulkar and Dravid.

"I believe that they are just going through a bad patch and will return to form soon. India just needs to be patient."