Former Indian opener Devang Gandhi wants to bat at the number three position for Bengal this season. The vice captain of the Bengal squad this year, Gandhi expressed his opinion at the training camp for the team in Calcutta on Thursday. Talking to reporters after a practise session at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Grounds, Gandhi said, "I still feel that I can make a comeback to the Indian squad. However, to do that, I will have to score a lot of runs. And that is why I have decided to bat at number three. It is a position which is quite similar to the opener's slot."

The dashing right hander is also of the opinion that even with a lot of juniors, Bengal has a chance of winning the Ranji Trophy. "We have quite a few youngsters in the side with tremendous potential. If the seniors of the side like Saba Karim, Srikkant Kalyani, Utpal Chatterjee and myself can perform well along with the youngsters, then we can challenge all the other sides." Gandhi, who will be leading Bengal for most of the season in the absence of Saurav Ganguly, feels that the added responsibility will not be a burden on him. "In fact, it will be an impetus to perform better.''

The Bengal practise session which entered its second day on Thursday was conducted by the seniors of the side. The Cricket Association of Bengal is yet to appoint a coach for the side. At the moment, the training session is being supervised by the Director of coaches MP Parmar. It was under his coaching that Bengal won the Ranji Trophy in 1990. However, he has just been asked to supervise. Parmar himself is unsure about what exactly his role is. Currently, he is looking after the under-14, under-16 and under-19 squads and the preparation of the pitches at the Eden Gardens. However, he disagrees with Gandhi on the chances of the Bengal team. "The problem is that the present lot of juniors is not dedicated. In fact, most of them are not ready to work hard as some of the seniors like Srikkant Kalyani. So how can you expect the team to perform well."

Even though, the training camp enetered its second day, a couple of seniors like Utpal Chatterjee and Rohan Gavaskar were absent. CAB officials informed that Gavaskar at the moment, is busy with his examinations in Mumbai and will be joining the camp in a few days time. On the other hand, Chatterjee has failed to join the camp as his office is yet to release him. However, he is also expected to join the camp by the weekend. Bengal play their first match against Tripura on November 19.

© CricInfo