BANGALORE, Dec 7: Anil Kumble, the India captain, was wary of a Pakistan backlash in the coming Test and hoped that his team would be able to combat that despite a number of injuries to the key players.

“Pakistan are always a dangerous side in this kind of situation. They come hard at you when the going gets tough. But we will be aware of that when we take the field on Saturday,” he told a press conference.

“There have been injuries to some of our players. Sachin [Tendulkar] aggravated a knee injury during the Kolkata Test. At the moment I’m not sure how bad the injury is. The support staff is monitoring the situation.”

He claimed that the absence of frontline bowler Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel will give the inexperienced backup bowlers a good exposure. “Both Vikram Singh and Ishant Sharma have a chance of proving themselves on the big stage. It’s a great opportunity for them. Irfan Pathan is an experienced bowler and it’s good to have him back in the Test squad,” he said.

Kumble termed his appearance on his home ground as a special occasion. “It’s always nice to be here because it very special and emotional for me to turn up in front of the home fans. They are very supportive and always back me,” he remarked.—K.H.K