TRELAWNY (Jamaica), March 8: India skipper Rahul Dravid believes Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly as well as himself will be crucial to whether or not his side win the World Cup.

In a tournament where batsmen will again dominate, and in which many observers think the 500-run innings total will be smashed, Dravid knows that he and his two experienced lieutenants have crucial roles to play.

“I believe that the experienced players who have been around a long time have got to do the difficult things, have got to do the things that are hard,” he said.

Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly are members of a rare breed – three men who have broken through the 10,000-run barrier in one-day cricket.

The captain has 10,044 from 310 games, Tendulkar a staggering 14,783 in 381 and Ganguly, now restored to the team after a controversial absence, 10,470 in 286 appearances.

“We've got a lot of experience, we've played a lot of cricket so we feel that during those middle overs we can do a job for the team and also, I think even when chasing, and finishing games,” he explained.

“I see myself along with people like Yuvraj (Singh) and (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni as people who can stay till the end and try to finish games and play according to the situation.”—AFP