'Pak cricket tour to get tougher'

Rahul Dravid may have done well, opening on the flat pitches of Lahore, but the forthcoming tests at Faislabad and Karachi could prove tougher, feels Dilip Vengsarkar.

The ace-batsman and former captain of the Indian cricket team was in Kolkata on the invitation of the Mainland Sambaran Cricket Academy (MSCA), promoted by Anjan Chatterjee of Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta fame, and Sambaran Banerjee, former Bengal player and national selector.

Vengsarkar will coach the boys of the MSCA on the finer nuances of batting.

"This is part of our attempt to spread the game at the grassroots level," Said Banerjee.

Last year, MCSA had invited EVS Prasanna for a similar exercise and next year, they plan to get a fast-bowler.

Besides batting techniques, Vengsarkar would also help out in another area "" "There is a lot of talent in the city, but unfortunately there is a lack of mental toughness."

Chatterjee, who has a similar academy for football, said that it was passion for these sports and Bengal that had led him to set up the MCSA in 2003.

"I will be happy if one or two of them make it into the Indian team."