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Sreesanth must back up his talk - McGrath

Glenn McGrath believes India's upcoming tour of Australia will be a major test for Sreesanth, who he says needs to start backing up his aggression with more consistent bowling. Sreesanth took nine wickets from four ODI outings in this month's home series but he was expensive and his efforts were overshadowed by his frequent clashes with members of the Australia team.

"I've had a chat to him a few times and it doesn't seem to be in his character," McGrath told the Australian. "He's trying to be aggressive and it's a little bit unusual. You want your fast bowler to be aggressive.

"Giving blokes send-offs or sledging when you talk back I don't agree with but that's up to the officials to sort out. At the end of the day you've got to be able to back it up. You can talk the talk but if you can't go out there and perform then you're not going to be around for very long."

Sreesanth was rested for three of the recent ODIs but he will be a key factor in India's Test and one-day tour of Australia starting in December. Stuart MacGill said Sreesanth and his team-mates would find it difficult to maintain their fiery approach in Australia.

"It's always easier when you've got a lot of support at home to ride your emotions," MacGill said in the Sydney Morning Herald. "They only need to look around and know they've got a billion countrymen supporting them. I think you'll find it doesn't work for them if they're pretending."

Ricky Ponting said a seven-match ODI series was a completely different scenario to four Tests and the tri-series, which would test India's resolve. "They made it pretty clear right at the start of the series they were going to fight fire with fire," Ponting said on returning home from the trip.

"We know that's generally not the way they play their cricket. We've got a lot of cricket against them in the next few months, so it will be interesting to see just how long that aggressive-natured cricket does last from them."

Gruelling schedule worries Dhoni

Melbourne: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has highlighted concerns that his side may be physically and mentally exhausted when it arrives in Australia in December following a gruelling schedule.

The Indians have been flat out almost since May, and they will play arch-rival Pakistan in a series involving five ODIs and three Tests before reaching Down Under.

"We have a 10-day gap right now, and in between the Pakistan series and the Australian series, we have just a three or four-day gap," Dhoni said.

"It's quite tough on the cricketers, but that's the way it goes. Even if you're feeling tired or exhausted, you cannot walk out on any of the matches," he was quoted, as saying by the Australian Associated Press.

Australia will be relatively fresh by comparison, having started its international season last month.

Full Schedule: Upcoming India matches | Discuss: Do you share Dhoni's worries?

Australia plays Tests against Sri Lanka in Brisbane (November 8-12) and Hobart (November 16-20), and three ODIs against New Zealand, before meeting India again.

Indian cricket fans accused of racist abuse

Four Indian cricket fans are to face charges of racially abusing the Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds after allegedly taunting him with monkey gestures, police in Mumbai said yesterday.

The four were ejected from Wednesday's one-day international (ODI), which India narrowly won, after officials showed police pictures of three men and one woman making racist gestures towards Symonds, who was the only black player in the Australian team.

The fans were charged with "misbehaviour and harassment" and were freed on bail pending a court appearance. Australian newspapers also carried photographs of the Mumbai crowd, clearly showing spectators making offensive gestures.

The seven-match ODI series, which Australia won 4-2, was marred by allegations of racial comments aimed at the Australians.

Symonds, who was the outstanding batsman of the series, had complained that fans in the western city of Vadodara earlier this month had been shouting monkey chants.

The city's police chief claimed the supporters were praying to the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman.

Symonds has also run the wrath of the Indian cricket crowds after heated exchanges with the bowlers Harbhajan Singh and Shantakumaran Sreesanth.

Both Indian and Australian cricket officials were quick to condemn the Mumbai spectators yesterday.

"There is no place for racism in cricket either on or off the field," Sharad Pawar, India's top cricket official, and Creagh O'Connor, his Australian counterpart, said in a joint statement. "All cricket nations have to be on guard to ensure that the fun does not cross the boundary into unacceptable behaviour."

Mukul Kesavan, one of India's best-known cricket writers, said he was surprised that Indian newspapers were not "exactly jumping to denounce" the racism.

"A cricketing crowd in India is a seething mass of diverse prejudices and a low-wattage racism is one of them. You did not see it with the West Indian cricketers because Indians always admired them a bit like Brazil and football. Symonds is seen as part of an abrasive, white team. But it is still deplorable racism."

india team

India

Team Players :
MS Dhoni

Date of birth: July 7, 1981

Major teams: India, Asia XI, Jharkhand

Nickname: Mahi

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm medium

Playing role: Wicketkeeper-batsman

ODI debut: Bangladesh v India at Chittagong - Dec 23, 2004

Rahul Dravid

Date of birth: January 11, 1973

Major teams: India, Scotland, ACC Asian XI, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent

Nickname: The Wall

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm offbreak

Playing role: Batsman

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Singapore - Apr 3, 1996
Gautam Gambhir

Date of birth: October 14, 1981, Delhi

Major teams: India, Delhi, Indian Board President's XI, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI

Batting: Left-hand bat

Bowling: Legbreak

Playing role: Opening batsman

ODI debut: Bangladesh v India at Dhaka - Apr 11, 2003

Sourav Ganguly

Date of birth: July 8, 1972

Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Asia XI, Bengal, Glamorgan, Lancashire

Batting: Left-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm medium

Playing role: Opening batsman

ODI debut: India v West Indies at Brisbane - Jan 11, 1992
Harbhajan Singh

Date of birth: July 3, 1980

Major teams: India, Asia XI

Nickname: Bhajji

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm offbreak

Playing role: Bowler

ODI debut: India v New Zealand at Sharjah - Apr 17, 1998

Dinesh Karthik

Date of birth: June 1, 1985

Major teams: India, India A, India Under-19s, Indian Board President's XI, Tamil Nadu

Nickname: -

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: -

Playing role: Batsman/ Wicketkeeper-batsman

ODI debut: England v India at Lord's - Sep 5, 2004
Zaheer Khan

Date of birth: October 7, 1978

Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Asia XI, Baroda, Surrey, Worcestershire

Nickname: -

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Left-arm fast-medium

Playing role: Bowler

ODI debut: Kenya v India at Nairobi - Oct 3, 2000

Irfan Pathan

Date of birth: October 27, 1984

Major teams: India, Baroda, Middlesex

Nickname: -

Batting: Left-hand bat

Bowling: Left-arm medium-fast

Playing role: All-rounder

ODI debut: Australia v India at Melbourne - Jan 9, 2004
Piyush Chawla

Date of birth: December 24, 1988

Major teams: India, Air India, India Under-19s, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh

Nickname: -

Batting: Left-hand bat

Bowling: Legbreak

Playing role: All-rounder

ODI debut: Bangladesh v India at Dhaka - May 12, 2007

Ramesh Powar

Date of birth: May 20, 1978

Major teams: India, Indian Board President's XI, Mumbai, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Reebok XI

Nickname: -

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm offbreak

Playing role: Bowler

ODI debut: Pakistan v India at Rawalpindi - Mar 16, 2004
RP Singh

Date of birth: December 6, 1985

Major teams: India, India A, India Under-19s, Leicestershire, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh

Nickname: -

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Left-arm fast-medium

Playing role: Bowler

ODI debut: Zimbabwe v India at Harare - Sep 4, 2005

S Sreesanth

Date of birth: February 6, 1983, Kothamangalam, Kerala

Major teams: India, Asia XI, Kerala, Kerala Under-19s

Nickname: Gopu

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm fast-medium

Playing role: Bowler

ODI debut: India v Sri Lanka at Nagpur - Oct 25, 2005
Sachin Tendulkar

Date of birth: April 24, 1973

Major teams: India, ACC Asian XI, Mumbai, Yorkshire

Nickname: Tendlya, Little Master

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly

Playing role: Batsman

ODI debut: Pakistan v India at Gujranwala - Dec 18, 1989

Robin Uthappa

Date of birth: November 11, 1985

Major teams: India, India Under-19s, Karnataka, Reebok XI

Nickname: -

Batting: Right-hand bat

Bowling: Right-arm medium

Playing role: Batsman

ODI debut: India v England at Indore - Apr 15, 2006
Yuvraj Singh

Date of birth: December 12, 1981

Major teams: India, Asia XI, Punjab, Yorkshire

Nickname: Yuvi

Batting: Left-hand bat

Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox

Playing role: Middle order batsman

ODI debut: Kenya v India at Nairobi - Oct 3, 2000